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STATUE OF LIBERTY IN NEW YORK HARBOR 



A FIRST BOOK IN 

AMERICAN HISTORY 

WITH 

EUROPEAN BEGINNINGS 



BY 
GERTRUDE VAN DUYN SOUTHWORTH 

AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF THE EMPIRE STATE," 
"BUILDERS OF OUR COUNTRY," ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED 




D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
NEW YORK CHICAGO 

1917 



(fyu^\ *' fr>A^ 






fir 77/E SAME AUTHOR 



Builders of Our Country. Two 

volumes. Book I, pages xiv, 274, cloth. 
Book II, pages xiv, 300, cloth. With many 
illustrations and maps. 65 cents each. 

The Story of the Empire State. 

Illustrated, pages x, 213 ; cloth, 80 cents. 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

New York Chicago 



Copyright, 1907, 1909, 1917, by 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



NOV 20 1917 



©CU479149 



DEDICATED TO 

JOHN AND NANCY 



PREFACE 



The Committee of Eight of the American Historical 
Association has recommended the teaching of European 
Beginnings of American History for the entire sixth grade 
of our grammar schools, and has outlined a course cover- 
ing the work. 

The author of this book has met the essential require- 
ments of the Committee of Eight, but, believing that a 
sixth grade child will not make the association between 
the European Beginnings of our history and our own 
history, if the two are not given in close connection with- 
out the break of a summer vacation, she has taken the 
liberty of shortening the time allotted to the study of 
European Beginnings, and has combined this subject 
with American history for a year's course. 

The book, then, tells a simple story of the growth of 
civilization among the Greeks, the Romans, the French, 
the Spaniards, the Germans, and the English, and ex- 
plains how each of these nations has influenced our 
government, our laws, our architecture, and our manner 
of living. This introduction is followed by brief accounts 
of the lives of men who by their actions have made for 
themselves places in American history. 

vii 



PREFACE 

The biographies have been chosen to give a connected 
narrative throughout, and by so doing the book offers 
in addition to the biographical plan — which without 
question appeals strongest to beginners — all the advan- 
tages of chronologically arranged texts. 

It is hoped that these stories will so interest American 
children as to arouse a genuine desire for further knowl- 
edge of the stirring events which have helped in the 
building up of the United States. 

Gertrude Van Duyn South worth, 
June 1, 1917 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEB 




PAGE 


I. 


Greece and Alexander the Great 


1 


II. 


Italy. 






The Romans ...... 


9 




Hannibal . ■ 


11 




Julius Caesar ...... 


14 




Augustus Caesar . 


21 


III. 


The Germans. 






Alaric ....... 


25 




Charlemagne — The Beginning of France 


29 




Roderick and the Goths in Spain 


31 


IV. 


Britain, or England. 






Hengist and Horsa . 


34 




Augustine ...... 


36 




Alfred the Great . . . . . 


38 




William the Conqueror 


40 




Richard the Lion-Hearted and His Brothel 






John ...... 


48 


V. 


Christopher Columbus. 






Europe in the Thirteenth Century . 


55 




Columbus's Plan .... 


57 




The First Voyage . 


62 




Other Voyages .... 


65 


VI. 


John Cabot ...... 


68 



IX 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTEK PAGE 

VII. The Spanish Conquests and Explorations. 

Ponce de Leon ..... 71 

Balboa 72 

Hernando Cortez ..... 74 
Hernando de Soto . . . . .75 

VIII. English Explorers after Cabot. 

Sir Francis Drake ..... 79 
Sir Walter Raleigh ..... 83 

IX. John Smith. 

The Jamestown Colony and the Adventures 

of John Smith 88 

Life in Jamestown ..... 90 

Pocahontas ...... 92 

The Indians 95 

X. Miles Standish and the Pilgrims. 

Why the Pilgrims Left England . .101 

The Pilgrims in America .... 103 

XL Governor Winthrop and the Puritans. 

The Puritans Come to America . . Ill 
Roger Williams . . . . .115 
King Philip's War 118 

XII. Henry Hudson and the Dutch in America . 123 

Peter Minuit 127 

Peter Stuyvesant . ' . . . .129 

XIII. The Early French Explorers. 

Champlain . . . . . .134 

The Attack on the Iroquois . . .137 
Joliet and Marquette — the Great Canoe Trip 140 

La Salle's Plans and Early Explorations . 144 

La Salle Reaches the Gulf of Mexico . . 147 

La Salle's Attempted Settlement . . 148 
x 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

XIV. Lord Baltimore. 

Maryland ...... 

XV. William Penn. 

The Quakers ...... 

The Settlement of Pennsylvania 

XVI. General James Oglethorpe. 

Georgia ....... 

XVII. Nathaniel Bacon ..... 

XVIII. Benjamin Franklin. 

Boyhood ...... 

Early Life in Philadelphia 

Franklin the Citizen .... 

XIX. Montcalm and Wolfe. 

French and Indians Wars 

Montcalm and Wolfe — The Close of the War 

XX. Patrick Henry. 

'God Save the King!" 
The First Breach 

XXI. Samuel Adams. 

The Stamp Act 
The Boston Tea Party 
Lexington and Concord 
Bunker Hill .... 

XXII. George Washington before the Revolution 
His Boyhood ..... 
The Surveyor .... 
Governor Dinwiddie's Messenger 
Great Meadows and Fort Necessity 
Braddock's Campaign 
Second Attack on Fort Duquesne 
xi 



151 

157 

159 

164 
167 

173 

175 
179 

185 
189 

198 
201 

206 
208 
211 
214 

217 
220 
222 
225 
227 
231 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIII. George Washington, Commander and Presi- 

dent. 

Commander in Chief .... 233 
The Campaign Before Boston and Around 

New York 234 

The Retreat Across New Jeresy . 238 

The English Plan and Burgoyne's Advance 241 

Burgoyne's Surrender .... 243 

In Pennsylvania ..... 244 

Yorktown ...... 247 

XXIV. Nathanael Greene. 

His Early Life 251 

In Washington's Army .... 252 

In the South 255 

XXV. Alexander Hamilton. 

Steps to Fame 259 

Depreciation of the Currency . . . 260 

The New Constitution and Financial Reform 262 

The Duel and Hamilton's Death . . 265 

XXVI. Thomas Jefferson. 

Author of the Declaration of Independence . 268 

President 271 

XXVII. Daniel Boone. 

The Young Hunter 275 

The Wilderness Road and Boonesborough . 277 

XXVIII. Eli Whitney and Robert Fulton. 

Eli Whitney 281 

Travel in Colonial Days . . . .284 

The Boy Fulton 285 

The Clermont ...... 286 

xii 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

XXIX. 



XXX. 



Oliver Hazard Perry. 
Before the War of 1812 
The Victory on Lake Erie 

Andrew Jackson. 

The Emigrant's Boy 
Lawyer and Fighter 
President 



291 
292 



296 
298 
301 



XXXI. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster 
Early Training of Henry Clay 
In Congress 
The Great Pacificator 
Daniel Webster's Early Days 
In Congress 



303 
304 
305 
309 
311 



XXXII. Samuel F. B. Morse and His Successors. 

Methods of Signaling . . . .316 

Samuel Morse and the Telegraph . .317 

Cyrus W. Field and Marconi . . . 320 

Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone . 322 

XXXIII. Abraham Lincoln before 1861. 

Lincoln's Birthplace .... 324 

Lincoln the Boy 325 

Lincoln Starts Out for Himself . ■ .328 

Lincoln the Lawyer ..... 332 
Lincoln the Politician .... 333 



XXXIV. President Lincoln and the Civil War. 

The Division of the Union . . .338 

July, 1861— September, 1862 . . .341 

January, 1863— April, 1865 . . .344 

Lincoln's Death ..... 346 
xiii 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

XXXV. 



Ulysses S. Grant. 



XXXVI. 



XXXVII. 



Younger Days .... 


. 350 


Farmer, Business Man, and General . 


. 352 


Lieutenant General and President 


. 355 


Honors and Death .... 


. 359 


Robert E. Lee. 




Before the Civil War 


. 361 


Commander of the Confederate Forces 


. 362 


Surrender ..... 


. 366 


David Glasgow Farragut. 




Midshipman ....... 


. 369 


Officer in the Navy . 


. 370 


New Orleans . 


. 371 


Mobile Bay ..... 


. 372 



XXXVIII. 



XXXIX. 



XL. 



George Dewey. 

"The Hero of Manilla" . 

Thomas A. Edison. 

Newsboy and Telegraph Operator 
The Inventor . 

The United States of America 

Review Questions 

Chronology . . . . 

Tables. 

Explorers and Discoverers 
The Thirteen Original Colonies 
The Growth of the United States 
Important Wars 

Explanation of Diacritical Marks 

Pronouncing Index 



376 

380 

382 

385 
389 
409 

414 

416 
417 
418 

420 

421 



xiv 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 



(Map) 
Showing How Romans 



as Priest 



Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor Frontispiece 
Greek Costumes and Furniture . 

A Greek Ship 

Alexander Taming His Horse, Bucephalus 
A Greek Soldier .... 

Alexander's Empire . 
Bronze Statue of a Roman Orator, 

Dressed .... 
A Roman Soldier 
Hannibal Crossing the Rhone 
The Temple in which Caesar, When a Boy, Served 
Julius Caesar (B. C. 100—44) 
Early Britons. Showing Costumes and Weapons 
Ancient British War Chariot 
Cesar's Funeral 
A Street Scene in Rome 

A Gladiatorial Combat (From a Pompeian Mosaic) 
Scene in the Colosseum in Rome 
Gallic Horsemen 
Alaric Entering Rome 
Goths Sweeping Through Italy . 
Charlemagne .... 
Remains of Roman Wall in England 
Saxon Invaders of England 
Norman Monastery . 
King Alfred .... 
Northmen's Ship 
Harold Taken Prisoner 
Norman Church in England 
Vassal Taking Lath . 
Feudal Castle . 

XV 



2 
3 
5 
6 

7 

10 
11 
13 
15 
16 
17 
17 
18 
20 
20 
23 
26 
27 
28 
30 
33 
35 
37 
38 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 




(Map) 

(Map) 
(Map) 



(Map) 



Drawbridge of a Feudal Castle . 
A Tournament .... 

Mounted Knight in Armor 

King Richard Landing in Palestine 

A Crusader .... 

King John Signing the Magna Charta 

Trade Routes to the Far East in the Time of Columbus 

Marco Polo ....... 

The Part of the World Known at the Time of Columbus 

Toscanelli's Map 

Ships of the Northmen . . ... 

The Santa Maria ...... 

Columbus Claiming the New Country in the Name of Spain 

Sebastian Cabot when an Old Man 

Balboa Reaches the Pacific Ocean 

Hernando Cortez ...... 

Hernando de Soto ...... 

The Route of De Soto . . . 

De Soto Discovering the Mississippi River . 

Sir Francis Drake ...... 

Ferdinand Magellan . . 

Admiral Drake Seizes Eight Peruvian Ships 

Sir Walter Raleigh . . . . . 

Setting up the Standard of Queen Elizabeth in Virginia 
A Rude Interruption ..... 

The Coast of Virginia ..... 

"Captayne John Smith, Admirall of New England" 
Pocahontas Saving John Smith .... 

An Indian Palisaded Village .... 

Calumet, or Indian Peace Pipe .... 

Indian War Club ...... 

Indian Stone Ax ..... . 

Indians Making a Canoe from the Trunk of a Tree 
James I of England ...... 

Departure of the Pilgrims from Delft Haven, July, 1020 
Miles Standish .... 

The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor 

Plymouth Rock 

The Flag of New England Used by the Plymouth Colony 

The Pilgrims Going to Church ..... 

xvi 



(Map) 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 

PAGE 

John Winthrop 112 

The Chief Settlements Made in New England Between 1620 

and 1675 {Map) 114 

Roger Williams Received by the Narragansett Indians . .116 

Rhode Island (Map) 118 

Indians Surprising a Settlement' . ..... 120 

Flag of the Dutch East India Company .... 123 

Henry Hudson ......... 124 

Purchase of Manhattan by Peter Minuit . . . .128 

The Dutch and Neighboring Settlements . . (Map) 130 

Old Dutch Fort '131 

The Wrath of Stuyvesant 132 

Jacques Cartier ........ 134 

Samuel Champlain ........ 135 

Territory Explored and Settled by the French . (Map) 136 

Champlain's Battle with the Iroquois ..... 139 

Marquette and Jcliet Floating Down the Mississippi . . 141 

The Burial of Marquette 143 

Robert La Salle 145 

Bronze Sun-Dial and Compass ...... 146 

Map of Maryland (Map) 151 

Cecil Calvert 152 

Governor Calvert Bartering for Land on Chesapeake Bay . 153 

William Penn 158 

The First Settlements of Pennsylvania and New Jersey {Map) 160 
Penn Making the Treaty with the Indians .... 161 

Treaty Belt Given to Penn by the Indians . . . .162 

James Oglethorpe ........ 165 

Bacon Confronting the Governor in the Square . . . 169 

The Ruins of Jamestown . . . . . . .171 

The Birthplace of Franklin ...... 173 

Franklin's Arrival in Philadelphia . . . . .176 

Franklin and His Printing Press . . . . .177 

Facsimile of the Title Page of Poor Richard's Almanack . 178 

Franklin and His Kite . . . . . . .181 

Benjamin Franklin ........ 183 

The Present Territory of the United States as Claimed by the 

French, English, and Spanish in 1749 . . (Map) 186 

The Disputed Territory (Map) 187 

Montcalm . 189 

2 xvii 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 

PAGE 

The French Forts on the Northern Frontier . . . 190 

The Siege of Quebec . . . . . . . . 194 

Death of General Wolfe ....... 195 

George III of England 199 

A Colonial Stamp ........ 201 

Patrick Henry Addressing the House of Burgesses . . 202 

Patrick Henry 204 

Samuel Adams ........ 207 

The "Boston Tea Party" 210 

The First Battlegrounds of the Revolution . . (Map) 211 

The Ride of Paul Revere 212 

The Stone which Marks the Place where the First Shot was 

Fired 213 

The Burning of Charlestown During the Battle of Bunker Hill 215 

A Page from One of the Books Used by George Washington . 218 

Washington Surveying ....... 220 

Washington Climbing Out of the Frozen Stream . . . 224 

Braddock's March 229 

Retreat of Braddock's Army ...... 230 

Washington Taking Command of the Army at Cambridge, 1775 235 

The Revolution in the Middle States . . . (Map) 236 

Washington Crossing the Delaware ..... 239 

The Flag of the United Colonies, 1775-1777 . . .240 

The First Flag of the United States, Adopted January, 1777 . 240 

The English Route from Canada . . . (Map) 242 

The Surrender of General Burgoyne ..... 243 

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge .... 245 

Where the Revolution Ended .... (Map) 247 

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., October 19, 

1781 248 

President and Mrs. Washington ...... 249 

Nathanael Greene . . . . . . . .251 

The Siege of Charlestown ....... 254 

Touching off the First Gun at the Siege of Yorktown . . 257 

Alexander Hamilton ........ 259 

Continental Bills 261 

Washington Taking the Oath of Office as the First President . 264 

First Money Coined by Congress ... . . . 265 

Thomas Jefferson 268 

Signing of the Declaration of Independence . . . . 269 

xviii 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 



(Map) 



The Liberty Bell as it Looks To-day 

The State House in Philadelphia where the Declaration of 

Independence was Signed . . . ... 

The Territory of the United States Before and After the 

Louisiana Purchase ..... (Map) 

Pioneer Settlements on the Western Frontier 
Daniel Boone Bringing His Family and the New Settlers Over 

the Wilderness Road . 
Eli Whitney 

A Section of the Cotton Gin 
Traveling by Stage Coach . 
Robert Fulton . 
The Clermont 

Railroad Travel in New York State in 1831 
Where the Battle of Lake Erie was Fought 
Commodore Perry Leaving the Lawrence 
Jackson Refusing to Clean the Boots of the British Officer 
General Jackson Keeping Watch of the Enemy from the Roof 

of His Headquarters in New Orleans 
Andrew Jackson ..... 

The Birthplace of Henry Clay . 

Emigrant and Freight Wagon of Pioneer Days 

Henry Clay ...... 

Daniel Webster ..... 

The House of Representatives in the Days of Webster and Clay 
Signals by Means of the Heliograph ..... 

The First Telegraphic Message Sent by the Morse System . 
H.M.S. Agamemnon Laying the First Atlantic Cable 
Transatlantic Wireless Station at Cape Breton 
The Telephone Exchange at a Central Office 
Where Lincoln was Born . 
Sarah Bush Lincoln — Lincoln's Stepmother 
Lincoln Reading at Night . 
Lincoln's Trip to New Orleans on a Flatboat 
The Western Territories in 1854 
A Scene at the Lincoln-Douglas Debates 
The Inauguration of Lincoln 
Firing on Fort Sumter 
The Merrimac and the Monitor . 
President Lincoln and His Son "Tad" 

xix 



(Map) 



PAGE 

270 

271 

272 
276 

278 
281 
283 
284 
285 
288 
290 
292 
294 
297 

300 
301 
303 
304 
307 
310 
313 
317 
318 
320 
321 
322 
324 
326 
327 
329 
334 
335 
339 
340 
342 
345 



ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 



(Map) 

(Map) 



Ford's Theater, where Lincoln was Shot 
House where Lincoln Died 

U. S. Grant 

The Civil War in the West 
The War in the East 
The Surrender of General Lee 
The Tomb of General Grant 

Robert E. Lee 

A Pontoon Bridge .... 
T. J. Jackson ..... 
House where General Grant and General Lee Arranged the 

Terms of Surrender 
Farragut Entering Mobile Bay . 
The Maine ..... 
Dewey on the Bridge of the Olympia . 
Thomas A. Edison .... 
Telegraph Instrument 



PAGE 

347 
348 
351 
353 
356 
357 
359 
362 
364 
365 

367 
373 
376 
377 
380 
381 



A FIRST BOOK 

IN 

AMERICAN HISTORY 

WITH 

EUROPEAN BEGINNINGS 



GREECE AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT 

Century after century, as far back as you can think, 
yes, and even much farther than that, this old world has 
been turning on its axis and journeying around the sun. 

Not all this time, but for many of the centuries, on 
different parts of the earth's surface, men and women 
have lived and fought and worked and played and died, 
and left behind them traces of what they did. Some of 
the things they did or made have greatly helped the 
people coming after, and the story of how it has all worked 
out is wonderfully interesting. But it is a long story, too 
long to be told from the beginning. So to commence 
with, take Alexander the Great and the lands and people 
of his day, and let us see what has come down to us from 
those far-off times and how it came. 

In the days when Alexander the Great ruled Greece 
only a fragment of the world was civilized. The coun- 
tries of Greece, Italy, Asia Minor, and Egypt, bordering 
on the Mediterranean Sea, were the important centers 
of civilization. Tribes of barbarians lived on the out- 

1 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



skirts of these lands. Of other lands and peoples little 
was known. 

The Greeks were the most cultured of the ancient 
nations. The natural beauty of their country made 
them love beautiful things. They erected wonderful 
temples and public buildings, and filled them with statues 
of marble and gold. They built huge amphitheatres, 
where thousands of people assembled to hear and see 
dramas and to witness athletic games and chariot races. 
They built beautiful monuments in memory of their 
heroes, and carved works of art from stone. Yet they 
lived in simple houses, only the nobility having elaborate 
palaces. 




Greek Costumes and Furniture. 



Believing that a beautiful body was the sign of a 
beautiful soul, the boys of Greece were trained in wrestling, 
jumping, running, and many other sports. Once in every 
four years a great festival was held at Olympia, and from 
daylight to dark, youths from all parts of Greece vied 
with each other in running, wrestling, boxing, throwing 
the discus and in four-horse chariot races. To win at 
the Olympian games was to be honored for life. 



GREECE AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT 

Always a graceful people, the Greeks wore loose flow- 
ing garments which added to the grace and dignity of 
their movements whether they were performing solemn 
religious rites or merely walking about the market-place. 

In early, early times people who wanted to write had 
to express their ideas by drawing pictures. Then, long 
before the days of Alexander, an Eastern people, called 
the Phoenicians, brought to the Greeks an alphabet. 
This alphabet the Greeks improved to suit their needs 
and used it in writing. Our own alphabet comes from 
theirs. The Greeks wrote poetry, plays, philosophy, his- 
tory, and wonderful stories of the deeds of their heroes, 
many of which we still read and study. Some of their 
sculpture, painting, and literature has never been equaled. 
Men of to-day can only imitate them. 




A Greek Ship. 

The Greeks were not only an artistic people; they 
were adventurous and brave. Since so large a part of 
their peninsula country was coastline, many of them 
could see the shiny sea from where they lived, and they 
felt the call of the sea. They built great ships and sailed 
about the Mediterranean, sometimes for adventure, some- 
times to carry on trade with other countries. And as 

3 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

time went on, they founded colonies on neighboring 
shores, in southern Italy, Sicily, the isles of the JEgeeui 
and in Asia Minor. 

The people of Greece were not, as you might think, 
united as we are in the United States. Steep mountain 
ridges and long arms of the sea divided the country into 
many valleys and plains, so that small groups of people 
were separated from each other and formed independent 
kingdoms or states. One of the strongest of these states 
was Athens, where each man had a voice in making the 
laws and ruling the state, much as the men of America 
have to-day. 

Each of the Greek states was self centered, caring 
much for its own glory and little or nothing for the glory 
of Greece as a nation. The spirit of rivalry was keen, 
especially between Sparta and Athens, these states con- 
stantly struggling for supremacy. So things went until 
at length, in the year 338 before Christ, King Philip of 
Macedonia conquered all the Greek cities, made himself 
master of Greece, and succeeded in partially uniting the 
states. 

Philip's country of Macedonia lay north of the penin- 
sula of Greece. Here the people were for the most part 
rude peasants, though the customs of the Greeks had 
been introduced into court life. Philip's son, Alexander, 
lived at court and studied with Greek teachers and 
learned all the ways of the Greeks. 

Until he was eight years old he took gymnasium ex- 
ercises and played outdoor games which would make him 
strong in body. His education was like that of the 
Greek boys — training in music, literature, philosophy, 
painting, and gymnastics. Of course he could not study 
electricity, and other subjects which boys of to-day 
study, because at that time these things were not known. 

4 



GREECE AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT 

Alexander became an agile, sturdy little fellow, eager for 
knowledge, and intensely interested in all the wars in 
which his father fought, and all the battles which he won. 
He was afraid that when he grew up there would be no 
countries left for him to conquer. 




Alexander Taming His Horse, Bucephalus. 



Two years after Philip conquered Greece, he died, 
and Alexander, who was then twenty years old, became 
king in his place. 

Alexander now discovered that his father had indeed 
left many countries for him to conquer. To the east lay 
Persia, and it soon came to be Alexander's chief ambition 
to form a mighty empire of Persia and all the east. The 
Greek army of nearly 40,000 was the largest ever before 
assembled in history. In 334 B.C. Alexander led this 
army against Persia. The Greeks conquered everywhere 

5 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

they went because of Alexander's splendid generalship 
and his many schemes for defeating the enemy. In 
battle after battle they were victorious, and year after 
year they pushed farther into Asia. 

They learned much of Persian customs, and added to 
their limited knowledge of the geography of the world. 
In turn the Persians learned Greek customs from them, 

since Alexander took care to 
establish Greek cities through- 
out the land he conquered. At 
first these cities were little more 
than resting places for his worn 
out soldiers, but later many 
grew into great centers of trade, 
and from them Greek thought 
and influence spread in every 
direction. 

Alexander also invaded 
Egj^pt, and at the mouth of 
the Nile founded the city of 
Alexandria, which became the 
great exchange market for the 
goods of Europe and Asia, as 
well as a famous center of 
learning. 

In his thirty-second year 
Alexander died, ending a re- 
markable career. He had conquered the land east to the 
Indus River. The Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Indus 
River, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediter- 
ranean Sea formed natural boundaries for much of his em- 
pire. And in the south he had added Egypt to the Greek 
possessions. He left a vast empire of great wealth and power 
and has ever since been known as Alexander the Great. 

6 




A Greek Soldier. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Summary 

The Greeks were lovers of the beautiful, and much of their 
art and literature has come down to our day. One of the 
greatest inventions of all time was the alphabet, which the 
Phoenicians brought from the East. The Greeks improved this 
for their own use, and the alphabet we use to-day is based upon 
that of the Greeks. 

From the Greeks the world first learned that every citizen 
should share in making the laws which govern his country. 

Under the leadership of Alexander the Great, the Greeks 
became a world power, and by conquest spread their territory 
east into Persia and south into Egypt. 



II 

ITALY 

THE ROMANS 

West of Greece there lies the boot-shaped peninsula 
of Italy. Long before the days of Alexander many dif- 
ferent races of men had migrated to Italy and there lived 
in a semi-barbarous manner. But with the passing of 
years the people grew more civilized. One tribe, the 
Etruscans, excelled in knowledge and power. They built 
roads and stone walls, parts of which exist to-day. No 
one can read the inscriptions on these walls, for no one 
holds the key with which to translate the ancient language 
of the Etruscans. 

In time an even greater people came to succeed the 
Etruscans. These were the Romans. Fifteen miles from 
the mouth of the Tiber River, which flows from the center 
of Italy southwest to the sea, stood seven hills. The site 
was an ideal one for a city: the elevation made a natural 
fortress; trading vessels could come up the river; the 
spot was far enough from the sea so that the pirates could 
not easily reach it. Three Italian tribes settled here. 
They united and called themselves " Romans." In the 
early days (753 B.C.) these tribes built a village of mud 
huts, and built a wall around two hills. They called their 
village Rome. The Romans were shepherds, for the most 
part, and pastured their flocks below the hills. At night 
they returned to the hills to escape the fevers and the 
wild beasts of the lowlands. 

9 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



The Romans were at first constantly on the defensive. 
The neighboring tribes made war upon the city and it 
was necessary for the little stronghold to struggle bitterly 
to live. Sometimes victorious, sometimes sadly beaten, 
Rome passed through the early stages of her history. At 
length the city not only held her own but began attacking 
her enemies. Slowly and surely the Romans conquered, 

and, while enlarging the city 
itself, extended their author- 
ity over the country near 
at hand. This done, they 
pushed on and on until they 
finally gained control of all 
of Italy. 

The early Romans lived 
very plainly. Their houses 
had but one large room, 
which was divided by thin 
board partitions. Their food 
and clothing were of the 
simplest. The men wore 
sandals and a single coarse 
woolen garment which came 
to the knees and was called a 
tunic. Over this, on special 
occasions, they wore a toga, 
or long sort of robe made of 
white woolen cloth. They 
spoke the Latin language. The father of a Roman family 
ruled absolutely in his house, and might banish his chil- 
dren, sell them as slaves, or even put them to death. 

Unlike the Greeks, who loved beautiful things, the 
Romans liked practical things. They bent their efforts 
to perfecting a system of government, to developing agri- 

10 




Beonze Statue of a Roman Ora- 
tor, Showing How Romans 
Dressed. 



ITALY 



culture and roads, and to acquiring wealth by trade. In 
time, however, when they had conquered the Greek cities 
of southern Italy, they carried home some of the wonder- 
ful Greek sculpture, some Greek ideas in building temples 
and theatres, learned to use the Greek alphabet, and 
adopted many of the Greek ways into their own life. 

There were two classes of Romans: the Patricians, or 
the nobility, and the Plebeians, or the 
common people, and there were many 
civil wars due to the quarrels between 
these two classes. The Patricians were 
determined to keep the power in their 
own hands. The Plebeians wanted equal 
rights with the Patricians. So in the his- 
tory of Rome we find constant disagree- 
ments, constant changes in government. 
Yet every Roman was loyal to the state. 
The ties of religion and of race bound 
the people together, so that they united 
against a foreign enemy and always up- 
held the honor of Rome. . A Roman Soldier, 




HANNIBAL 

After the Romans had conquered all of Italy their 
most dangerous rival was the city of Carthage. Carthage, 
on the north coast of Africa, was separated from the toe 
of the peninsula of Italy by only a narrow strip of sea and 
the island of Sicily. Like Rome, Carthage was a city of 
great power, and had control of much of northern Africa, 
parts of Spain and Sicily and of the islands of Corsica 
and Sardinia. The Carthaginians were a commercial 
people who had many trading vessels and acquired much 
wealth by their commerce on the sea. The two cities 

11 



A FIEST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

became bitter rivals, and in 264 B.C. began a great war 
called the First Punic War. To conquer Carthage, the 
Romans built a fleet of more than 100 ships, and, although 
unfamiliar with naval warfare, they were victorious in 
many sea fights. After twenty-four years of fighting, 
sometimes on the African coast, sometimes in Sicily, 
sometimes on the sea, the Romans subdued the Car- 
thaginians and took from them the island of Sicily, 
which became Rome's first province. 

Carthage, although subdued for a time, was still a 
sworn enemy to Rome. And at last there came a great 
military general to lead the Carthaginians against Rome 
in a new war, the Second Punic War. This man was 
Hannibal. Hannibal's father fought in the first war be- 
tween Carthage and Rome. And so great was his hatred 
of the Romans that he made Hannibal, then nine years 
old, swear to spend his life trying to overthrow their 
power. This oath Hannibal never forgot, and when he 
became a man and was made commander of the Car- 
thaginian army in Spain he felt that his chance had come 
to conquer the hated Romans. He resolved to carry the 
war into the very heart of Italy, to the city of Rome 
itself. He chose a roundabout route, and decided to 
lead his great army north of Italy, and thence south over 
the treacherous Alps mountains. 

The Carthaginians used elephants on which they rushed 
upon the foe and broke their ranks. These elephants added 
much to the difficulties of the journey as great rafts had to 
be built to carry them across the Rhone River, and now 
and again in crossing the Alps many hours were lost cut- 
ting mountain pathways wide enough for them to pass 
through. 

In other places the path was so narrow and steep and 
slippery that hundreds of horses and men missed their 

12 



ITALY 




13 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

footing and fell over the precipices, to be dashed to 
pieces thousands of feet below. Hostile mountain tribes, 
from high above them, rolled great masses of rock upon 
the army as they struggled upward. Altogether, the 
journey across the Alps was full of peril and cost Han- 
nibal dear. But at length, after terrible suffering, his 
army reached Italy, where it stayed for fifteen years. 

Pushing ahead, mowing down the Roman forces as 
they went, ravaging the country, the Carthaginians ad- 
vanced on Rome. The outcome looked very dark for 
the Romans. But the Roman people and their allies 
stood firm in defense of their capital. At length the 
Romans sent a part of their army into Africa. Then 
Hannibal was forced to abandon his campaign in Italy 
and return home to defend Carthage. From this point 
on, Rome was not only out of danger but turned the 
tables and warred successfully against Carthage. At 
last, in 202 B.C., the mighty Hannibal bowed his head 
in defeat. Rome had broken forever the strength of 
Carthage. And later the Romans completed their vic- 
tory by burning Carthage to the ground. 



JULIUS C/ESAR 

With Carthage, her strongest rival, overthrown, 
Rome was mistress of great power. But people who 
have tasted wealth and glory usually crave for more, 
and so Rome was not content with her conquests. 

Great armies were sent into all the countries around 
the Mediterranean, and Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece, and 
much of southern Europe fell before them and became 
Roman provinces, ruled by Roman governors. 

All the land which is now France, Belgium, and 
Switzerland was then called Gaul. And into Gaul the 

14 



ITALY 




The Temple in Which Cesar, When a 
Boy, Served as Priest. 



Roman troops were led by Julius Caesar, "the greatest of 
all the Romans.' ' 

While conquering Gaul, Caesar first came into contact 
with the great German race which was later to overthrow 
the magnificent Ro- 
man empire. The 
Gallic tribes were 
always fighting each 
other, and some 
years before, certain 
tribes who were get- 
ting the worst of 
affairs had asked the 
Germans to come 
over the Rhine and 

help them. This the Germans had done gladly; only 
when the battle was ended, they had refused to return to 
their own side of the Rhine. Instead they had seized 
upon lands belonging to the Gauls and settled there. 
Such an arrangement was not to Caesar's liking. So he 
decided that he must drive the Germans back to their 
old homes. 

Even the brave Roman soldiers lost courage when 
they heard stories of the terrible size and bravery of the 
" barbarians." To the smaller, dark-skinned Roman 
soldier these huge warriors, with their fair skins and long 
light hair, must indeed have seemed scarcely human. 
But Caesar, nothing daunted, led his legions into battle 
with the Germans and defeated them and drove them 
out of Gaul. 

To subdue the men of Gaul was no easy task. And 
for several years Caesar carried on almost continual war- 
fare with the different tribes. At last, however, he suc- 
ceeded in thoroughly conquering the land, and the Gauls 

15 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



began to adopt Roman customs. Since the Romans had 
accepted Greek ideals of beauty and education, the Gauls 
received the benefit of Greek culture as well as Roman 
ways of government and life. 

Just northwest of Gaul, across the English Channel, 
lay the British Isles. The natives were a wild, hardy 

race. Like most half -savage 
people, the Britons were di- 
vided into tribes. And the 
different tribes fought each 
other almost constantly and 
could only be forced to unite 
in the presence of some 
common danger. They made 
rough weapons and house- 
hold articles and wore a 
coarse cloth which, with the 
skins of the animals they 
killed, made up their scanty 
clothing. 
As these Britons were distant cousins of the Gauls, 
quite naturally, from time to time, they helped their 
kinsmen to fight against the Romans. So useful was 
their help that before Caesar succeeded in subduing the 
Gauls, he was forced to make two brief invasions into 
Britain. 

The first time the Roman army sailed to the British 
Isles was in the year 55 B.C. The natives of the islands 
had never seen an army as great as Caesar's. But they 
rushed boldly on the invaders and tried their utmost to 
keep them from landing. All in vain, however, as 
Ca?sar's warriors leaped to the shore and soon drove the 
Britons away. 

The Romans stayed in Britain only a few weeks. 
16 





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V ^ll* 




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-Ty ■■ - 




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Julius Cesar (b.c. 100-44). 



ITALY 



Winter was near and there were too many other things 
to do. The next year Caesar again sailed to Britain. 
On this second visit 
he remained a little 
longer and gave the 
people a more defi- 
nite idea of Rome's 
power. But it was 
not until nearly a 
hundred years 
afterward that the 
Romans really 
brought the Britons 
under their control. 
Caesar's two land- 
ings merely pre- 
pared the way. 

In the days of 
Julius Caesar, when 
Rome was all for 
conquest, it is no wonder that 
backed by his well-trained legions 




Early Britons Showing Costumes and 
Weapons. 



a successful general, 
should receive much 
honor and glory. 
After a campaign 
which had added 
new lands to Rome's 
empire, such a con- 
queror was wel- 
comed home by a 
" triumph." A tri- 
umph was a great 
public celebration. 
It began with a magnificent procession where were shown 
the captured treasures and the prisoners taken in war. 

17 




Ancient British War Chariot. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



And the conqueror, with a laurel wreath on his head, 
rode at the head of his soldiers, who sang and shouted 
his praises. After the procession gorgeous banquets were 
held, rewards were given the soldiers, and offerings were 
made to the gods. 

Such • a triumph was given Caesar, Rome's greatest 
general by far, on his return from conquering Gaul. 
And then, because of his ability, his rank, and his popu- 
larity, the people of Rome made Caesar dictator. 







Cesar's Funeral. 



Rome was called a republic, but the man who held 
the dictatorship was really an absolute ruler. For a 
time Caesar governed Rome with wisdom and justice. 
But in spite of all he had done for his country, he had 
many enemies, some who were jealous of his great 

18 



ITALY 

authority, others who feared that he might become king 
and so end the republican form of government. While 
seated one day in the senate, he was suddenly over- 
powered and stabbed to death. 

At his death Caesar left a wonderful nation. At the 
time of her greatest extent, the Roman empire included 
the territory bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Rhine, 
Danube and Euphrates rivers, and the Sahara desert. 

Rome had conquered the world. She was approach- 
ing the height of her glory, but later this very magnificence 
was to prove her downfall. She had stately public build- 
ings, beautiful temples filled with rare statues, huge 
public baths, and wonderful roads which took the place 
of our railroads and have lasted to this day. Over them 
horsemen carrying important news or letters dashed with 
desperate speed. 

Realizing the value of education, Rome preserved the 
literature of the Greeks and added to it. Many of her 
great soldiers and statesmen were famous orators and 
writers. Julius Caesar wrote an account of his battles in 
Gaul, and this book is one of the first that Latin scholars 
now study. 

As there were no printing presses, all the copying was 
done by slaves. The slaves wrote from dictation on 
long strips of thin paper. The strips were then fastened 
to two light, round sticks. When reading, a stick was 
held in each hand and the strip of paper was unrolled 
from one stick and rolled upon the other. 

Thousands of Greek prisoners lived as slaves in 
Roman homes. These slaves were often brilliant scholars, 
far better educated than their masters, and they taught 
Greek learning and customs to the members of the Ro- 
man household. Many Greek words were adopted into 
the Latin language and from the Latin have come to us. 

19 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

As Rome grew greater, more slaves were brought in, 
more wealth was gained from captured cities. The 




A Street Scene in Rome. 



Roman nobles gave themselves up to new luxuries. All 
the work was done by slaves, so there was no way for 

the poorer classes 
to earn a living. 
These people gath- 
ered in the cities 
and lived as beg- 
gars, supported by 
gifts of grain from 
the state, and 
amused by public 
entertainments in 
the vast Roman 
theatres and circuses. Such entertainments were sometimes 
very beautiful, sometimes very brutal, always very costly. 

20 




From a Pompeian Mosaic. 

A Gladiatorial Combat. 



ITALY 

There were dances, chariot races, battles between spe- 
cially trained men called "gladiators," or the fights of wild 
beasts brought from distant countries. The simple life of 
Rome was gone. Through its very hardships the early 
way of living had bred a race of brave, vigorous men. But 
the descendants of these former Romans lived only for 
feasting and amusement, and gradually as the years went 
by they lost their splendid patriotism, and the glory of 
Rome was on the wane. 

AUGUSTUS C/ESAR 

For thirteen years after Caesar's death Rome was 
given over to war among her leaders. It was an un- 
happy time. At last one of Caesar's grand-nephews suc- 
ceeded in putting down all other rivals and gained control 
of affairs. So great was his power that he was in reality 
a king. This man's name was Octavius, but the Romans 
called him Augustus, or "The Majestic." He was made 
emperor, and the Republic of Rome became an empire. 

Augustus was a great and wise ruler. He set himself 
to improving conditions within the empire rather than to 
conquering more land. He encouraged education, held 
the nobility in check, relieved the poorer people, and 
built many beautiful public buildings. Indeed this time 
was so peaceful and prosperous that it is often called the 
"Golden Age." 

Many of the new buildings were temples. The 
Greeks and Romans were religious people, and their 
faiths were much alike. Both had many gods. They 
worshipped a god of the sun, a god of war, a god of the 
sea, and the like. The Romans also included their 
emperor in their worship because of the great power he 
possessed, which made him somewhat like the gods. 
These early religions were observed with elaborate cere- 

21 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

monies. Temples were built for the gods and rich gifts 
and sacrifices were offered to them. 

Then, during the peaceful reign of Augustus, Jesus 
Christ was born in the little town of Bethlehem. And 
from this quiet spot in the Roman province of Judea 
came a religion which was to replace all the wonder 
stories of Greek and Roman mythology. 

The followers of Christ were called Christians. At 
first their number was small and they attracted little 
notice. But the few who did believe in the teaching of 
Christianity were so sincere that they felt that they 
should tell others about their faith. So they made their 
way to different parts of the empire and even to Rome 
itself. Here, as everywhere, the simple belief of the 
Christians appealed to those who heard about it, and 
after a time there were many Christians and the Roman 
officials became alarmed. 

Though the Christians were quiet and peaceable, they 
held secret meetings and refused to worship the emperor. 
These two things were against the Roman laws and 
therefore could not be allowed. So the Christians were 
persecuted. Their homes were taken from them, they 
were stoned and crucified and many were burned to 
death. But though for years they were cruelly tortured 
and killed, still the religion spread. Finally the Roman 
Emperor Constantine made it the national religion in 
325 A.D. Later, when Rome had lost her control of 
world affairs, we find her still powerful as the head of 
the Christian church. 

The Roman Empire lasted for about five hundred 
years after the rule of Augustus. All the time the nation 
was growing weaker. The nobility lived in extravagant 
style while the poor starved. No one's life was safe, for 
the emperors ordered people killed in order to seize their 

22 




Scene in the Colosseum in Rome. 
23 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

property, and the emperors themselves were murdered by 
their political enemies. Everyone distrusted everyone 
else, and crime and oppression terrorized the whole land. 
Sometimes a good ruler would try to improve things, but 
his reign was not long enough to make the reforms lasting. 

The first Christian emperor, Constantine, changed his 
capital from Rome to Byzantium. This city he renamed 
Constantinople. Finally the empire was divided into 
the East and West empires. One emperor ruled the 
western empire and another took charge of the eastern, 
with its court at Constantinople. 

The old Roman Empire had grown weak and shaky. 
The Romans could no longer drive back the wild tribes 
on their northern and western boundaries. By 476 
A.D. the western empire was a conquered nation, and the 
new rulers of Europe were the Germans. 

Summary 

The Romans were a practical people who built wonderful 
roads, cultivated their land, adopted into their lives the best of 
Greek art and literature, made wise laws, and, while building 
up a mighty empire, carried all these things into the lands they 
conquered. 

People now use Roman law. Our divisions of countries, 
states, cities and townships are based on Rome's system of 
managing her vast territories. Many words in the different 
modern languages came from the Latin of the Romans. 

Just as the Greeks first taught the world the value of every 
man's having a voice in the government, so Rome has taught 
us national patriotism. The Greek loved and served his state. 
The Roman loved and served the whole Roman Empire. 

When we Americans claim we have a government of the 
people, by the people, and for the people, in our .United States, 
we show that these two great lessons of the Greeks and Romans 
have come down to us through the centuries. 

24 



Ill 

THE GERMANS 
ALARIC 

Beyond the Danube and the Rhine lay the land of 
the Germans. Just as the general term " studies" is 
divided into many subjects — arithmetic, geography, 
spelling, and so on — so the general name " Germans" 
included many different divisions or tribes, — Franks, 
Goths, Vandals, Angles and Saxons. 

These barbarians, as they were called, were very un- 
like the Romans. They were a big, strong race, with 
long light hair, fair skins, and blue eyes. A German 
village was just a group of clearings made in the dense 
forests and the houses were rough huts. The men spent 
their time hunting and fighting, while the women and 
children raised grain for food and took care of herds of 
cattle. 

For governing purposes they were divided into groups, 
with some man who was braver or stronger than the 
others for their chief. On matters of general interest, 
such as war with a neighboring tribe, each man was ex- 
pected to give his frank opinion, for the Germans be- 
lieved that all men held equal rights and should be free 
to express their ideas. Even the women could offer 
advice, as the Germans held their women in high respect. 
And well they might, for besides doing most of the work, 
the women went with- the tribe to battle, where they 

25 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




Gallic Horsemen. 



cared for the wounded, urged their husbands on to vic- 
tory, and even occasionally dashed in and helped them 
fight. 

The Romans first came upon the Germans when 
Caesar was fighting in Gaul. You remember that he 

found them settled south 
of the Rhine and succeeded 
in driving them back to 
their own side of the river. 
But during the later days 
of the empire the Germans 
again came over the Ro- 
man border. They needed 
more land for grazing and 
hunting, and they were 
eager for a share in the 
wealth of which they had 
heard. Sometimes they 
fought with the Romans. Sometimes they came peace- 
ably, somewhat as immigrants come to us to-day. They 
settled in Gaul or northern Italy, and in return for land, 
fought in the Roman army against her enemies. 

The most civilized of the German tribes were the 
Goths who lived in the eastern part of Germany just 
north of the Danube. About four centuries after the 
birth of Christ, these Goths heard that they were to be 
attacked by the Huns, who were terrible little Asiatic 
warriors. In terror they rushed into Italy and asked 
the Romans for permission to settle there. They came 
in great numbers, sweeping everything before them. 

At first the Romans promised protection to the Goths. 
But the promise was not kept. The Goths were cruelly 
treated by Roman officials, who starved them and forced 
them to sell their children as slaves. Finally the angry 

26 



THE GERMANS 

Goths rose against the Romans and defeated them at the 
battle of Adrianople. 

For a time after this victory they settled down on 
the lands they had won and remained quiet. But about 
twenty years later they wanted more land and when the 
Romans refused to grant it, they chose for their leader a 
brave young Goth named Alaric, and again made war 
on Rome. 




Alaric Entering Rome. 



Alaric was an able leader. He knew he could not 
capture the great walled city by a direct attack, so he 
drew his army around it and waited to starve the Romans 
into submission. This he succeeded in doing, and the 
people had to pay an enormous ransom before he would 
lead his army away. 

Then, again and again Alaric asked for more land and 
provisions for his people. But the foolish emperor re- 
fused to make terms with the Goths, and two years 

27 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

after his first siege, Alaric captured Rome in earnest. 
He ordered his soldiers to respect the churches, but they 
destroyed or carried off nearly everything else of value. 
It was in 410 A.D. that the Imperial City fell before the 
German invaders, and from this time on, all Italy was 
at their command. The Gothic armies swept down 
through the peninsula, leaving the country a waste 
behind them. 

Not long afterwards this great leader died. The 
story is told that his followers turned aside the course of 




Goths Sweeping Through Italy. 



a river and made his grave in its bed. Then they let 
the waters flow back in their channel, that no one might 
ever know where Alaric was buried. No new leader 
could take his place. The Goths drifted through the 
country, some settling in small groups where the land 
appealed to them, some going to south Gaul and Spain, 
where they became the ancestors of the modern Spaniards. 
But the Goths were not the only Germanic invaders 
of Italy. Different tribes were continually crossing the 

28 



THE GERMANS 

border to conquer and destroy, and finally to settle down 
and mingle with the original inhabitants. A little more 
than half a century after Alaric captured Rome, the 
great Roman Empire had been stamped out, but her 
influence lived on. 

Many art treasures were buried in the ruins of over- 
thrown cities and were thus preserved until modern 
times. In some country districts old Roman ideas and 
customs were kept. The Roman captives succeeded in 
influencing their fierce masters a little, as the Greeks had 
softened the early Romans. Rome had become weakened 
through indulgence. A brave, physically strong race 
was needed to carry on world civilization. 

To the Roman law and government the Germans 
added respect for womanhood, and the belief that each 
man shomld be free to live according to his own ideas. 

CHARLEMAGNE— THE BEGINNING OF FRANCE 

With the coming into power of the Germans, we have 
the beginnings of some modern European countries. 
Towards the close of the fifth century the Franks, a 
German tribe from the German side of the Rhine, ap- 
peared in northern Gaul. Here under a bold ruler 
named Clovis they succeeded in conquering Roman ter- 
ritory and brought under their power German tribes to 
the east and south. The land they won was called 
Frankland, and later, France. 

Clovis united many small kingdoms into one strong 
one, with a capital at Paris. He was a pagan king, but 
his beautiful wife Clothilde was a Christian. One day a 
great battle was going against Clovis. He had prayed 
to his own gods for victory, but in vain. At last, in 
despair, he called on the God Clothilde worshiped, and 
promised to become a Christian if the battle would turn 
4 29 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



in his favor. He defeated his enemies and kept his 
word. As he was very powerful, his adoption of Chris- 
tianity spread this religion throughout the Frankish 
territory. After Clovis' death his kingdom was divided 

amongst his sons, 
and for a long time 
a period of bad gov- 
ernment followed. 

Three hundred 
years later came 
Charles the Great 
or Charlemagne. 
Charlemagne was 
a strong, just king, 
and during his 
reign he added to 
his realm most of 
modern Germany 
and the western 
half of Austria. 
He punished crime, 
encouraged learn- 
ing by founding 
many schools, and 
governed with wis- 
dom and kindness. 
He was so great a king that even the powerful church rec- 
ognized his authority and asked him to come to Rome to 
decide a church dispute. Here he was crowned emperor 
of Rome and France by the pope. 

Charlemagne did much toward uniting German and 
Roman customs, and benefited not only his own country 
but people of later times by his appreciation of learning. 
But after his death his empire was broken up. France 

30 









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CHARLEMAGNE. 



THE GERMANS 

for a long time sank back into misrule, and robbers and 
brigands ran riot over the land. The nation was not 
strong enough to advance by itself, and no great leader 
came forward to carry on the work of Charlemagne. 

RODERICK AND THE GOTHS IN SPAIN 

While the Franks were laying the foundation of the 
France of to-day, certain of the Goths had located in 
Spain. But these Spanish Goths did not long have 
things to themselves. 

Out in the land of the Arabs a new religion arose, 
with Mohammed as its prophet, and the Arabs, who were 
bold and fearless, set out to spread this new religion by 
the sword. Westward they swept through Syria, Egypt, 
and all northern Africa, and then, joined by the Moors, 
they crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered Sp in. 

At this time one Roderick was king of the Goths of 
Spain. Many of his people were not loyal to him, and 
gladly surrendered to the Moors. This left Roderick 
and his nobles to fight the Moors almost alone, and 
naturally it was not long before their small forces were 
defeated, Roderick was slain, and the Moors and Arabs 
were left to rule in Spain. 

Under their rule things improved wonderfully. They 
established schools and universities where mathematics, 
geography, and astronomy were studied. And they 
brought into Spain rice, sugar, cotton, and silk. But 
best of all they brought to Europe the Arabic numbers 
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, which in time replaced the old 
Roman numerals for business use. 

But what of the Goths all this time? After Roderick 
was killed,' some of his followers surrendered to the Moors, 
who allowed them to keep their old homes, but many of 

31 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

them fled to the mountains, there to wait until they were 
strong enough to drive the Moors away. 

After many, many years that time came, and they 
left the mountains and slowly, little by little, regained 
their lost land. 

At last Spain consisted of three great kingdoms, 
Portugal, Aragon, and Castile. Then Queen Isabella of 
Castile married Ferdinand of Aragon, thus joining the 
two most powerful divisions. And together these rulers 
succeeded in driving the Moorish chief from his strong- 
hold of Granada, and built up a united and prosperous 
country, which for a long time was in advance of the rest 
of Europe. 

Summary 

In early times the many tribes of the German race lived to 
the north of the Roman Empire. Driven by the Huns or in 
search of new land they crossed the Danube and Rhine and 
took possession of the western kingdom of Rome. The Franks 
conquered northern Gaul and changed its name to France. 
Other Germans settled in Spain. To the Germans we owe the 
idea of personal freedom in the expression of beliefs. The 
Arabs brought to Europe the Arabic numbers, and did much to 
further learning in western Europe. 



IV 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 



While Europe was breaking up and forming again in 
new divisions, the British Isles were having troubles and 
triumphs in their turn. Being separated from the main- 
land was at first an advantage, as the difficulty of crossing 




Remains of Roman Wall in England. 



the channel protected them from invasion. Later this 
separation proved a drawback, for Britain was cut off 
from the more advanced civilization of the continent. 

For almost a hundred years after Caesar's two visits 
the Britons were left to their wild life. Then Rome 
seized the territory, established fortified towns, built 

33 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

roads, enforced Roman government and introduced 
Christianity. 

Britain remained a Roman province for three and a 
half centuries. This brought her to the time when the 
Germans began to cross the frontiers of the Roman Em- 
pire. Rome was forced to withdraw the soldiers stationed 
in Britain, to protect the home boundaries, and the 
Britons were left at the mercy of any enemy who might 
come. The strength of the native Britons had been so 
broken by the Roman conquerors that the people were 
practically defenseless. 

HENGIST AND HORSA 

After the Roman armies left, roving bands of Ger- 
mans from the mainland made raids on Britain's coast. 
But the worst invaders were the Picts and Scots. These 
were strong tribes from Scotland and Ireland, whom even 
the Romans had failed to subdue. 

It is near this period that legendary history places the 
wonderful British hero, King Arthur, and his Twelve 
Knights of the Round Table. Many beautiful stories 
are told of the adventures of this king and his court, but 
unfortunately it seems difficult to base them on facts. 
At any rate King Arthur and his followers, though models 
of chivalrous knighthood, were unable to save Britain 
from the fierce northern enemies who killed and plundered 
till the poor Britons longed for the return of their stern 
Roman masters. But Rome was too busy with home 
affairs to respond to their pleas for help. So, in despair, 
the Britons asked the Germans to come and drive out 
the Picts and Scots, and offered them land in return for 
defense. 

Now it happened that at this time two men, named 
34 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

Hengist and Horsa, were powerful leaders of a Germanic 
tribe called the Jutes. And, tempted by the Britons' 
offer of land, Hengist and Horsa decided to lead their 
followers to Britain. In the year 449 they landed and 
set themselves to overcoming the Picts and Scots. But 
hardly was this done and their reward granted to them, 
before other Germans began coming in great numbers to 
join Hengist and Horsa. 







Saxon Invaders of England. 



These other Germans were the Saxons and the Angles. 
And at once they and the Jutes concluded that they 
would not stay on the land earned by defeating the Picts 
and Scots, but that they would conquer all of Britain 
and have it for their own. 

Since they were less civilized than the tribes which 
. 35 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

had overrun Italy and France, they did more damage 
when they undertook to conquer Britain. 

Cities were laid waste, splendid Roman buildings were 
ruined, and even the churches were burned to ashes. 
The Britons were killed or enslaved or driven from the 
land and nearly all traces of Roman civilization were 
wiped out. 

Not only did the Saxons and Angles set up their own 
language, religion, and customs, but they changed the 
very name of the country they had vanquished. Britain 
was no longer called Britain, but Angleland, which name 
was later shortened to England. 

AUGUSTINE 

All this time Christianity was growing more powerful 
in Europe. And in the Middle Ages, the period which 
followed the coming of the Germans, the church became 
a great ruling force, to which even the most tyrannical 
European kings submitted. 

In England, however, after the coming of the Ger- 
mans, Christianity was destroyed for a while. This 
grieved the pope, so in 597 he sent a good and wise monk 
named Augustine with forty other monks to England to 
convert the people. Augustine landed in the south of 
England in the kingdom of Kent and asked permission 
of the King of Kent to preach Christianity. The king 
received the monks kindly and not only granted Augus- 
tine's request but promised the monks his protection and 
offered them a home in his capital of Canterbury. There 
they had their monastery, there Augustine began his 
great work, and from there Christianity gradually spread. 

As more and more people became converted, churches 
and monasteries were built throughout the country. The 

36 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

followers of Augustine brought with them Roman litera- 
ture and culture, and, as the years passed, schools were 
established in the monasteries where pupils were taught 
to read Latin and to write. 

The monks who lived in the monasteries were men 
who had promised to devote their lives to prayers and 




Norman Monastery. 



kind deeds for others. In the terrible times of bloodshed 
which were to come a little later, these monasteries were 
almost the only places where learning and ideals of peace 
and self-sacrifice were preserved. 

Under the teaching of Christianity, and through con- 
tact with Rome by means of traders and missionaries, 
the people of England gradually began to change from 
their cruelty and ignorance. But just as England was 
creeping up, and her wild conquerors were learning the 
arts of peace, new foes appeared. 

37 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



ALFRED THE GREAT 

The foes which next fell upon England were the 
Northmen or Vikings. They, too, were distant kinsmen 
of the German tribes, but they came from the cold north — 
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. They were bold, 
sturdy, pagan warriors, who sailed the seas in long, swift 

ships. Courage and en- 
durance were their great 
virtues and savage cruelty 
their worst fault. They 
worshiped the old Norse 
gods Odin and Thor, and 
believed that beautiful 
maidens on fiery steeds 
rode from the shining halls 
of Valhalla to carry brave 
warriors back to the gods. 
Their songs or sagas tell 
wonderful stories of great 
daring. 

These Vikings made 
sudden raids on English 
towns and were far away 
again toward their own 
"Land of the Midnight 
Sun " before any thing could 
be done. As they found 
how helpless the English were, their visits became more 
frequent, and the whole land lived in constant terror of 
these fierce ' ' sea kings." The Danes especially grew bolder 
and bolder and pushed their way farther and farther in- 
land until at last they seized the whole country northeast 
of the Thames and threatened to push on across the river. 

38 




King Alfred. 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

Then in 871 a Saxon king, Alfred the Great, came to 
the throne of Wessex, which was the most important of 
the seven kingdoms into which England was at that 
time divided. Alfred was different from former kings. 
Not only was he a brave and able soldier, but he later 
proved to be a wise and just ruler. Before he could make 
his country prosperous he knew he must check the ad- 
vance of the Danes. He fought many battles against 
them and each time he was defeated, until his army was 
almost discouraged. At last, however, Alfred was vic- 
torious. The Danes were too numerous for him to drive 
them out of the land, but he forced them to make an 
agreement, whereby they were to receive the north- 
eastern part of England on condition that they leave the 
rest of the country in peace. The Thames was to be the 
boundary. The Danes tried often to break the treaty, 
but Alfred was strong enough to keep them under control. 

Having won a period of peace for his kingdom, Alfred 
set about teaching the English to become a better race. 
He encouraged religion and education, even sending to 
the continent for wise scholars who could teach him and 
his people. Alfred himself learned the Latin language, 
that he might translate the most .important Latin books 
of the time into t Anglo-Saxon for the benefit of those who 
could not read them otherwise. He also had the best 
laws of the country collected into one book so that all 
might know what their privileges were. And to him is 
given credit for inventing one of the earliest clocks. 

This "clock" was nothing more nor less than six can- 
dles, each candle long enough to burn for just four hours. 
This was a very crude arrangement, but it enabled people 
to tell time at night or in a storm, when, before, they 
could only measure the hours by the position of the sun 
in the sky. To shield the candle flame from wind, it was 

39 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

protected by thin strips of ox horn. So King Alfred's 
candle clock was also the foundation for the horn lanterns 
which later came into such general use. 

Still another thing which Alfred the Great did for 
England was to build a fleet of war vessels to protect his 
land from further invasion, and this fleet was the begin- 
ning of the great English navy which later won for England 
the proud title of Mistress of the Seas. 

Under Alfred, the English made great advances, and 
after his death for a hundred years they were ruled by 
strong kings, who continued drawing the country to- 
gether into one great nation. 

But these other kings were not as successful as Alfred 
in repressing the Danes, and in 1016 the Danish king 
Canute had himself crowned ruler of England. Canute 
was brutal in winning the crown and murdered or exiled 
many nobles who he feared might hold him back. Once 
he possessed the throne, however, he became a very good 
king indeed, and during his reign Anglo-Saxons and Danes 
dwelt together in comparative good-fellowship. 

To repeat, then, first the Britons were conquered by 
the Romans, from whom they learned many things. 
Then the German tribes overthrew the Romanized 
Britons and swept away much of the Romans' work. 
But again England struggled up to a civilization which 
included Briton, Roman, and German ideals. And at 
this point came the Danes, or Danish Northmen. 

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 

England was not the only country the Northmen 
found to their liking. Dashing down the coast of Europe, 
these huge sea kings had learned to covet the sunny 
lands of France, so different from their own rugged 
country. And time and again they had invaded French 

40 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

territory. At last, one hundred years before Canute 
became king of England, northern France was given to 
a band of Northmen on the condition that they swear 
allegiance to the French king; that is, that they promise 
to obey him as their overlord. After that, this section 




Northmen's Ship. 

was called Normandy and the people Normans, which 
was really the softer southern pronunciation of the name 
Northmen. 

The dukes, or rulers, of Normandy grew in time to 
be as powerful as any king; and at last one of them, 
William of Normandy, became king in reality. But it 
was king of England and not of France. This is how it 
happened. 

About fifty years after the reign of Canute, the Eng- 
lish throne was held by Edward the Confessor, who died 
without leaving anyone of his blood to succeed him. He 
had appointed his chief adviser, a great nobleman called 
Earl Harold, to reign in his place, and Harold was 
crowned as soon as the king was dead. But William of 

41 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Normandy insisted that Edward had once promised the 
throne to him, and that Harold himself had sworn a 
solemn oath to help him get it. On these very slight 
claims William came from northern France to seize the 
English throne. 




Harold Taken Prisoner. 



Harold tried to defend his rights, but he was killed 
at the battle of Hastings in 1066, and the victorious 
William, Duke of Normandy, marched to London and 
forced the bishops to crown him king of England. 

History knows him as William the Conqueror — a title 
well befitting his character. He was like his Viking fore- 
fathers, a giant in size and strength, and he had a will 
that overcame all obstacles. He was stern and cruel, 
but he held his kingdom firmly together, and brought 

42 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

Anglo-Saxons, Danes, and Normans under one central 
government. And this union was what was needed. 

Realizing that his new subjects hated their Norman 
conquerors, he took the lands and estates from the Eng- 
lish people and gave them to Norman nobles, in return 
for their oath to obey and serve him always. Thus 
William made the Norman barons responsible for order 
being kept throughout his possessions, and he could 
count on their loyalty, as upon it depended all their 
wealth. He placed fortified castles in all important 
towns, filled them with Norman sol- 
diers, and gave them Norman com- 
manders. In this way there was 
small chance of an uprising among 
the English people. 




Norman Church in England. 



William was a harsh king. He taxed the people 
heavily, keeping account of all their property in a great 
record called the Doomsday book. Other hated things 
were the use of the French language; the curfew, which 
meant that all fires must be put out when the curfew 
bell sounded at dusk ; and the destruction of many villages 

43 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

to furnish ground for great forests where none but the 
king might hunt. 

Yet in spite of these harsh laws the Norman conquest 
was, after all, a good thing for England. The rude 
buildings which stood before the conquest were replaced 
by the more elaborate Norman architecture. The Nor- 




Vassal Taking Oath. 



mans were a quicker, more intelligent race than the stolid 
Anglo-Saxons, and the gradual intermingling of the two 
types made the great English nation of to-day. Under 
the Normans England was more alive, more up with the 
times than she had ever been before. 

The system of land grants and obedience to an over*, 
lord used by William was the great method of govern- 
ment in England and on the continent for many years. 
It was known as the Feudal System. 

44 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

Under the Feudal System the king was supposed to 
own all the land in his kingdom, vast tracts of which he 
granted to his great and loyal nobles. In place of paying 
rent for their land these nobles knelt before the king and, 
putting their two hands between his, solemnly swore to 
be faithful to his service and to defend his cause even 
unto death. Just so long as they kept this oath, the land 
was theirs, and they were known as vassals of the king. 
Such a vassal lived on his land in a great castle which, 
though it contained all the comforts then known, would 
seem grim and gloomy and forlorn to-day. 




Feudal Castle. 



The castle was surrounded by high, thick walls and 
outside the walls was a deep ditch or moat which could 
be filled with water, and so prevent an attacking enemy 
from getting to the walls. A drawbridge across the moat 
was the only entrance to the castle. When the bridge 
5 45 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



was drawn up the castle was entirely cut off from the 
outside world. So you see that each castle was really a 
fortress. 

That he might have loyal supporters to help him pro- 
tect his castle, the vassal of the king divided his land 
among lesser nobles and knights, who became his vassals 
just as he was the king's. 

These estates were called manors. They, too, were 
divided into still smaller parts and these parts were 

allotted to men called 
serfs. A serf was al- 
lowed the use of his 
strip of land and was 
promised protection. 
In return, he must give 
a good share of all he 
raised to the lord of the 
manor and must work a 
great part of his time on 
the land which the lord 
reserved for himself. 
The serfs, who lived in wretched huts, had no legal 
rights and were transferred with the land as if they were 
cattle. This was cruel and unjust, and the wretched 
lower classes had no opportunity of changing their way 
of living. The whole country was divided between the 
rude magnificence of the nobles and the suffering of the 
common people, who must slave to furnish the wealth of 
their masters. 

In the towns, conditions were a little better. But 
the streets were only dirty, narrow lanes. The shops 
and houses were dark, low buildings huddled together 
within the town walls. People did not travel any more 
than they could help, for roads were poor and the forests 

46 




Drawbridge of a Feudal Castle. 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 



inhabited by bands of outlaws, men who could not earn 
an honest living or would not stand the tyranny of the 
nobles. 

Fighting was the greatest career, and knights and 
nobles gloried in battle. A boy who wanted to be a knight 
began his training when he was only seven, and even 
then he could not be- 
come a knight till he 
was twenty-one, and 
had vowed to obey and 
protect the church, to 
be true to his lady, and 
to defend the weak 
and helpless. 

The center of gai- 
ety was the court. 
Tournaments or mock 
battles, hawking and 
hunting, were the chief 
amusements. Nearly 
all learning was con- 
fined to the church, 
which, closely united 
to the state, had be- 
come a great power. 

But the days of 
chivalry, of brave 
knights and beauti- 
ful ladies, of great monasteries and brilliant courts, of 
bands of outlaws like the celebrated Robin Hood, who 
lived a life of gay adventure in the king's forest, were, 
after all, times of discomfort, danger, and wretched con- 
ditions. With all their glamour, they lacked most of the 
common necessities of our modern life. 

47 




A Tournament. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED AND HIS 
BROTHER JOHN 

One of the most celebrated names on England's long 
list of chivalry is that of Richard the Lion-Hearted, king 
of England. 















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Mounted Knight in Armor. 



Richard and his brother John were sons of Henry, 
who first introduced the idea of trial by jury. Richard 
was the older, so after Henry's death, he succeeded to 
the throne. But instead of managing his kingdom, the 

48 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

new ruler went around the country looking for adven- 
ture. 

About this time the Crusades were causing great ex- 
citement. The Holy Land had been captured by infidel 



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King Richard Landing in Palestine. 



Turks, and all Christian lands were called upon to rescue 
the city of Jerusalem. King Richard found in the Cru- 
sades plenty of work for him to do. He raised all the 
money he could from his subjects and started for Pales- 
tine with a great army. 

49 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Long after Richard's death, which occurred as he 
was returning from one of his several trips to the Holy 
Land, the war between the Turks and the Christians 
continued. Sometimes one side was victorious, some- 
times the other. Finally Palestine was left to the Mo- 
hammedans. The Crusades had failed in their main 
purpose, but they had accomplished something more 
important. They encouraged travel and trade, drew the 

Christian nations together, 
and spread learning and an 
exchange of ideas. 

After Richard's death John 
became ruler of England. 
Richard had been away from 
his country a good deal, but 
he was brave and kind and 
the people were proud of theii 
crusader king. John was to- 
tally different in every way 
from his brother. He was 
selfish, cruel, and cowardly. 
He cared nothing for his sub- 
^ jects, and his unjust taxef 
pressed heavily on everyone. 

John did not even spare 
the powerful bishops, but 
seized the rich church lands for himself. So matters 
went from bad to worse until the Pope, to punish him, 
ordered the churches closed. No marriage ceremony or 
burial service could be held. Such an order in a time 
when everyone thought the church had supreme power 
over their future life was a terrible thing. But even 
this failed to bring John to submission. It was only 
when the Pope threatened to deprive him of his crown, 

50 




A Crusader. 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

and had already asked the French king to attack Eng- 
land, that John restored the church lands and promised 
reform. 

For the greater part of his subjects, however, matters 
were not improved. Finally his own nobles rose against 







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King John Signing the Magna Charta. 

him. The result of their rebellion was the signing of 
the Magna Charta, or Great Charter, at Runnymeade 
in 1215. 

This was one of the most important steps in English 
51 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

history. The Great Charter was the foundation of the 
freedom of the English people and the rights which were 
based upon it benefited the common people as well as 
the nobles. The necessity for consent to taxation and 
justice for everyone in the king's courts were two of the 
chief articles. With the signing of this document by 
John, the people made their first step toward popular 
government. 

Not many years after, another great step forward 
was taken by another English ruler. This was the 
calling of the first Parliament to counsel with the king. 
Up to that time there had been the Great Council, but 
only nobles and bishops could attend the Great Council. 
The Parliament included, besides the nobles and bishops, 
two men from each of certain cities and two from each 
county or shire. Don't you see that now the common 
people were beginning to have a voice in the government 
through the men who represented them? And much as 
their ideas and their desires were brought out in the 
Parliament of England by their representatives, so in 
America to-day the ideas and desires of the people in 
different parts of our land are carried by their repre- 
sentatives to our national Congress at Washington. 

The rest of England's story is mainly the struggle 
between the kiiag, the nobles, the church, and the people, 
for control, until we have the formation of the strong, 
vigorous nation which our own country claims as the 
motherland. 

Summary 

About a hundred years after Caesar's visits to Britain, that 
land was conquered by the Romans. They built roads, forti- 
fied towns, established Roman government and introduced 
Christianity. Three and a half centuries later, the Jutes, 

52 



BRITAIN, OR ENGLAND 

Angles and Saxons, all German tribes, swept over Britain and 
wiped out nearly all traces of Roman civilization. Then, just 
as these barbarians were learning to give up their wild ways 
and England was once more beginning to thrive, came the 
Danes. 

While the Danes were conquering England, other Northmen 
were invading northern France, which was given them under 
the name of Normandy. In 1066, William, Duke of Nor- 
mandy, conquered England and was crowned king. This was 
the fourth conquest of England. Early in the thirteenth cen- 
tury a tyrannical king was forced to sign the Magna Charta, 
and some years later the first Parliament was called. 

The privileges granted by the Great Charter were for both 
the common people and nobles. Two of the privileges were 
trial before punishment and no taxation without consent. 
The Parliament included men from all walks of life and marked 
the beginning of representative government such as we have in 
America to-day. 

General Summary 

From Rome we have received the basis for our present sys- 
tem of government and law and the great lesson of love for 
our whole country instead of some one little part. We still 
study, imitate, and admire their literature, engineering, and 
architecture, and many of their words have become part of our 
own tongue. 

Greece gave us high ideals of beauty and education, and 
taught us that each man should have a voice in making the 
laws of his land. 

To the German race we are indebted for the idea of personal 
liberty. The Arabs gave us the Arabic numbers. And from 
the East came Christianity. Each race gave some great gift, 
and all these gifts have been handed down to us of to-day by 
our ancestors, who came across the ocean from their different 
countries, to help build up this wonderful new land. 

Although England is the country with which we are most 

53 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

closely associated, many adventurers from other lands explored 
and helped to settle our America. And just as the best of Greek, 
Roman, and German civilization and ideals were carried over 
to England, so from England and the European nations which 
sent their people to our shores, these same ideals and tested 
policies were brought to us. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 

EUROPE IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY 

In spite of all the Crusades had done to increase travel, 
the people of Europe knew little of the world in the 
year 1200. They thought that the earth was a great 
square. Around the four sides of the square, as anyone 
could see, were the four blue walls of sky. And resting on 
the four blue walls were the heavens, where dwelt God 




Trade Routes to the Far East in the Time of Columbus. 

and his angels. The lands known to Europeans formed 
the center of the square. On the west the land ended in 
water. On the east lay Cathay; but about Cathay the 
people of Europe knew nothing. They thought of it as a 

55 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

great bog or swamp, full of dreadful beasts, hobgoblins, 
bugaboos, and monsters, which roamed about howling in 
a way to make one's hair fairly stand on end. 

Gradually, however, the merchants of Italy pushed 
farther and farther east to increase their commerce. And 







Marco Polo. 

by the end of a hundred years a Venetian named Marco 
Polo had actually found his way to the very heart of 
Cathay. 

What the Europeans called Cathay, we call China; 
and in the thirteenth century China was no more a swamp 
than it is to-day. Marco Polo found a mighty people liv- 
ing in China, possessed of a mighty empire, and ruled by a 

56 



COLUMBUS 

mighty ruler. Their lands were rich in mines of gold and 
coal; and ebony, bamboo, corn, silk, and spices were 
plentiful. 

When Marco Polo returned to Italy, he wrote a book 
telling about his travels; about the riches of China and 
Japan; and, most important of all, about a great sea that 
lay even farther east than China. 



COLUMBUS'S PLAN 

By the beginning of the fourteenth century the Italian 
cities had built up a flourishing trade with India. Among 
the most important of the trade centers were the repub- 
lics of Genoa and Venice. 

Genoa sent her cargoes to India by way of Constan- 
tinople and the Black and Caspian seas. But suddenly, 
about the middle of the fifteenth century, her trade route 
was cut off. Constantinople was captured by the Turks, 
and the Turks would not allow ships from Genoa to sail 
into the Black Sea. It was a dreadful blow to the pros- 
perity of the republic. Some new course must be found. 
But where and by whom? 

When this disaster befell Genoa, the same questions 
were continually being asked in other lands than Italy. 
Portugal was among the most eager of the seekers for a 
new route to the East. Her hope was to find a passage 
around the southern part of Africa; and year after year 
she sent her ships farther and farther down the western 
coast of that continent searching for a southern passage. 

From time to time on such voyages there was to be 
seen among the Portuguese sailors a tall, handsome, ruddy 
young seaman with long flowing hair and commanding 
blue-gray eyes. Christopher Columbus, he was called. 

Columbus was born in Genoa, probably about the year 
57 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

1436. He was the son of a wool comber. Until his tenth 
year Christopher helped his father in his trade. Then he 
spent four years in the University of Pavia, learning mathe- 
matics, reading, writing, and the laws of navigation. 

On leaving Pavia he was sent by his father to sea. 
For some time he sailed up and down the Mediterranean 
in merchant vessels. But later he went to Portugal, and 
from there sailed, not only far south along the shores of 
Africa, but also north even as far as Iceland. 




The Part of the World Known at the Time of Columbus. 
(Shown in white.) 

By the time Columbus sailed the seas the compass 
had come into use, thus enabling sailors to tell at any 
time which way to turn to get home. 

Then, too, the explorers had maps of the world. But 
many of the maps were very queer and had pictures of 
dreadful sea serpents and horrible monsters drawn be- 
tween the countless little islands. This was due to the 
stories told by sailors, who were very superstitious. In 
the dark nights when they were out upon the sea, they 
would imagine all sorts of creatures moving' in the dark- 
ness beyond. These stories were fully believed, and 
wherever a sailor had seen such sights they were put down 
on the map. 

58 



COLUMBUS 

The great trouble was that very few people knew the 
real facts. Most of them still thought that the earth was 
a flat surface, surrounded on all sides by a large ocean. 

A very few learned men thought differently. These 
few said that the earth was round, as we know it to be. 
But even they made mistakes. They believed the world 
to be much smaller than it really is. They knew nothing 





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ToSCANELLl's MAP. 

(Restored and simplified.) 

about America, and thought that only one ocean — the 
Atlantic — separated Europe from India and China. 

Paying close attention to all he could see or hear of 
such matters on his many trips, Columbus came to think 
the same as the wise men; and this belief opened big 
possibilities to him. Born in Genoa and sailing under the 
flag of Portugal, is it any wonder that he was easily fired 
with the desire to find a new route to India? Plans began 
to form in his mind and fairly to take possession of him. 

Once, when he was visiting the Azores, the inhabitants 

59 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

showed him some bits of curiously carved wood and 
branches of unknown trees that had been driven ashore 
by the western seas. They also told him of two drowned 
men the waves had washed up, whose appearance was 
altogether different from any European's. Such things 
could have come only from a country to the west, reasoned 
Columbus. And the stories confirmed him still further 



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Ships of the Northmen. 



in his growing belief that to sail west was the way to 
reach India and China. 

Finally he wrote to a noted astronomer of Florence, 
named Toscanelli, and asked his advice. Marco Polo's 
stories of the wealth of China and Japan, and, above all, 
what Marco Polo had written about a sea beyond, had so 
influenced this Toscanelli that he too had tried to plan 
some way of reaching these lands. His plans and those 
of Columbus proved to be the same. When he answered 
Columbus's letter he sent with his reply a map of the 

60 



COLUMBUS 

world made by himself and showing the course that he 
believed would lead to China. 

Like the maps of the other learned men, Toscanelli's 
map showed only three continents — Europe, Asia, and 
Africa. Where America lies he drew China and Japan. 
And he too made the distance much too short. 

Some think that in Iceland Columbus must have heard 
of the discovery of a land to the west. The people who 
lived in Iceland were the Northmen. Centuries before the 
time of Columbus these Northmen had sailed west from 
their Norway and Denmark homes. And not only had 
they settled in both Iceland and Greenland, but they had 
even pushed on still farther west to a land they called 
Vinland. This Vinland probably lay somewhere on the 
New England coast, but no one really knows its where- 
abouts. 

Surely if Columbus did hear of such a land he could not 
have understood where it was. He accepted Toscanelli's 
map as accurate and longed to test the plan of sailing 
directly west to China. But he was poor and had not the 
money to carry out such an enterprise. Where could he 
turn for help? First he tried Genoa and Venice. The 
people only laughed at his wild plans. They thought he 
must be mad. 

Then he went to Portugal. But neither would the 
Portuguese listen. Instead they ridiculed him and asked 
if he really believed that the earth was round and 
that people on the other side walked with their heads 
down. 

In spite of all this opposition Columbus was not dis- 
couraged. He now went to Spain where King Ferdi- 
nand and Queen Isabella reigned. For seven long years 
Columbus stayed there trying to persuade the King and 
Queen to give him ships to cross the ocean. At last Queen 
6 61 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Isabella promised that Spain would furnish the necessary 
money, and offered to pawn her own jewels if her country 
could not give him enough. 



THE FIRST VOYAGE 

On the 3d of August, 1492, Columbus left the port of 
Palos with three vessels, the Pinta, the Nina and the 

Santa Maria. 




This last was the 
flagship, and was 
the only one with 
an entire deck. 
Although the 
largest of the 
fleet, the Santa 
Maria was not 
over ninety feet 
long and twenty 
feet wide. 

It had been no 
easy task to find 
men to man these 
ships. In order to get sailors, convicts were taken out of 
jail and promised their liberty if they would go with 
Columbus. Others, the King forced to go. 

The vessels arrived at the Canary Islands the 12th 
of "August and stayed there three weeks, as the Pinta 
needed repairs. 

When they were again out upon the sea and no land 
was in sight, the fears of the sailors rose. What horrible 
monsters would they meet? What if they should fall 
off the edge of the earth! What if this wind that carried 
them on so swiftly should prevent their going home! 

62 



The "Santa Maria." 
(Flagship of Columbus.) 



COLUMBUS 

As the weeks passed and no land appeared, a mutiny 
threatened to break out. But Columbus, noticing this 
restlessness and growing fear among the men, encouraged 
them from day to day with new hope. 

After a few weeks they came into a region where the 
air was soft and balmy. Queer objects were floating out 





1* k^- 


:,*$ * ft ' $'*'' M* ''" Y 





Columbus Claiming the New Country in the Name of Spain. 



to meet them — sticks carved with strange figures, and 
once a branch of berries. Now the men were very happy, 
and all kept a diligent lookout for land. 

One evening a sailor spied something dark against the 
horizon. "Land!" he shouted. When morning came, 
there, stretched before them, was the New World. Red- 
skinned natives were running excitedly up and down the 
shore wondering who these strange white people were. 

This was the 12th of October, 1492. The crew went 
63 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

ashore and, falling on their knees, kissed the ground in 
their great joy. With much ceremony Columbus unfurled 
the banner he had brought with him and took possession 
of the country in the name of Spain. He gave the island 
the name of San Salvador. 

"This island must be a little north of Japan/' thought 
Columbus. It was a beautiful spot, but there were cer- 
tainly no traces of the great palace with the golden roof; 
of the courtiers of the king laden down with silk and pre- 
cious jewels, or of the busy wharves crowded with vessels, 
which Columbus had expected to see when he should 
touch the shores of Japan. Evidently he must sail a little 
farther before he could see these wonders. 

Cruising about, still looking for Japan or the coast of 
China, Columbus discovered the islands of Cuba and Haiti. 
To the whole group he gave the name Indies, and so 
naturally he called the natives Indians. 

Early Christmas morning, before it was light, a cry 
went up from the deck of the Santa Maria. The flagship 
had struck on a sand bar just off the coast of Haiti. All 
efforts to set her free were useless. Soon the waves had 
broken to pieces the best and largest of Columbus's little 
fleet. 

What if another such accident should happen, and 
there should be no way to send word back to Spain that he 
had at least reached the islands near Japan and China! 
Frightened by this thought, Columbus determined to sail 
for home. With the largest ship gone, all the sailors 
could not now be carried, so forty men were left in 
Haiti. 

On the 12th of March Columbus arrived in Palos. 
News of Columbus's good fortune soon spread over Spain 
and Portugal. Everybody was eager to welcome the 
great man. They forgot all the mean things they had said 

64 



COLUMBUS 

about him and were ready to praise him for what he had 
done. 

You can imagine how the King and Queen felt when 
Columbus presented himself at their court. He told them 
all about the New World and what he had seen there. 
He showed them all the curious things he had brought — 
the wonderful birds, unknown fruits, and, above all, sev- 
eral natives from the new country. Columbus was recog- 
nized as a hero. The King gave him the title of "Don" 
and treated him almost as an equal. 

But the great honors lavished upon the successful ad- 
miral soon made enemies for him among the jealous cour- 
tiers. One day at a dinner given in his honor Columbus 
was telling about his voyage. Another guest remarked 
that he did not think there was anything so very won- 
derful about discovering the Indies. With quiet dignity 
Columbus took an egg and, turning to the man, asked, 
"Can you stand this egg on end?" 

Why, no, he couldn't; and neither could any other 
guest at the table> although they all tried. 

When the egg was handed back to Columbus he struck 
it lightly on the table, cracking the shell just enough to 
make it stand upright. Then everyone laughed to see 
how easily it could be done. 

" Just so easily anyone could have discovered the In- 
dies after I had shown the way," said Columbus. 

OTHER VOYAGES 

When in September, 1493, Columbus sailed upon his 
second voyage, he had no difficulty in getting sailors. 
Everybody was eager to see the new land and share in 
its riches. The fleet consisted of seventeen vessels and 
fifteen hundred men. 

65 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

This time Columbus landed on the island of Porto Rico. 
But when the people found no gold lying around, they 
began to murmur and criticise their leader. Columbus, 
as always, told them to hope and wait. 

When he went back to Spain after nearly three years, 
most of the men who had come with him stayed on the 
islands. Columbus still believed he was near the coast of 
Japan or China, and never during his lifetime did he know 
that he was the discoverer of America. 

But now no royal welcome was given the returning 
explorer. You see that even from his second trip he had 
brought back no gold and none of the wealth of the East; 
and that is what the Spanish people wanted. He was 
an upstart and a fraud. 

However, as Queen Isabella still believed in him and 
encouraged him, Columbus fitted out six vessels and in 
1498 started on his third voyage. This time he sailed far- 
ther south and discovered the Orinoco River. 

Leaving the Orinoco River, Columbus cruised to the 
West Indies. There the colonists had turned against him, 
and when he came among them they put him in chains 
and sent him back to Spain. Columbus wore his chains 
with dignity and patience. But when he reached Spain 
the Queen was so indignant at his treatment that he was 
immediately released. 

In 1502 Columbus made one more voyage. Again he 
returned without having reached the Chinese Empire and 
with no gold. Isabella soon died, and the King took no 
more notice of the great man. 

Columbus was now an old man, his health was broken, 
and he was very poor. In 1506 he died. He had discov- 
ered a new world, and all the thanks he received was to 
be ignored. 

Through his efforts, Spain became one of the wealthiest 
66 



COLUMBUS 

and strongest countries in Europe. She founded great 
colonies across the ocean, which carried on a wonderful 
trade with the Old World. 

And not Spain alone, but all Europe, profited indi- 
rectly by the discoveries of Columbus. Even before his 
death different nations began sending out explorers to 
plant their banners on any lands they might find and thus 
to extend their power in the New World to the west. 

You would suppose that our continent would have 
been named after Columbus. Instead it was called Amer- 
ica after a certain Florentine adventurer, Americus Ves- 
pucius, who crossed the ocean after Columbus, and who 
wrote a book about his travels. 



Summary 

In the middle of the fifteenth century the capture of Con- 
stantinople by the Turks cut off the trade route from Europe 
to the East, and voyagers began to look for a new passage. — ■ 
Christopher Columbus of Genoa was one of the few who believed 
that the earth is round, and that by sailing westward one could 
reach China and India. — Possibly he knew that, two centuries 
before, Marco Polo by traveling east had found China and the 
Pacific. He did not know that, five centuries before, Northmen, 
voyaging west, had discovered a continent between Europe and 
Asia. — Aided by Spain, Columbus crossed the Atlantic, August 3- 
October 12, 1492. He landed on islands he called the Indies, and 
left a colony on one of them. — Columbus made three later voy- 
ages to the West Indies and discovered the coast of South 
America. — America was named after a later voyager to this con- 
tinent, who wrote a book about his travels. 



VI 
JOHN CABOT 

Considering how slowly news generally traveled from 
country to country in the time of Columbus, the report 
of his first voyage seems to have spread with wonderful 
rapidity. Before long England knew all about it, and 
the English King was saying to himself, "If Spain has 
really sent ships to the west and reached these islands 
off the coast of China, why cannot England do the same'. 
And why cannot we have some of the wealth of China and 
Japan? I will see that we do have, and I will see that 
the English flag is planted in this distant land." 

England always wanted, and took measures to get 
her full share of whatever offered itself. Still in this in- 
stance Henry VII probably acted more promptly than 
he otherwise would have, because he felt that he had at 
hand just the right man to help him out. This was John 
Cabot, and he too was full of enthusiasm over the possi- 
bilities of a western voyage. 

Cabot was born in 1450, probably in Genoa. He moved 
to Venice while still young, and later became a citizen 
of that city. To become a citizen of Venice he had to 
reside there fifteen years, and during that time he made 
his living by drawing maps and charts. In 1490 he and 
his wife left Venice and settled in Bristol, which was at 
that time the chief seaport of England, and the center of 
traae with the fisheries of Iceland. 

Cabot was soon a great favorite with King Henry; and 
68 



JOHN CABOT 



seeing the King's interest in the voyage of Columbus, he 
added to it by telling things about China learned from 
the merchants of Venice. Then Cabot suggested that, 
if King Henry would fit out a ship to cross the Atlantic, 
he would gladly sail in command of such an expedition. 

So it was agreed, and in May, 1497, John Cabot, and his 
son Sebastian, with 
one vessel and eigh- 
teen men set sail 
from Bristol. On the 
24th of June the 
coast of Labrador 
was sighted. Where 
they landed is not 
definitely known, 
but probably it was 
near the island of 
Cape Breton. 

Cabot planted the 
flag of England and 
took possession of 
the land in the name 
of the English King. 
This planting of the 

English flag laid the foundation for the English claims 
in the new continent. 

Great was the rejoicing when Cabot returned to Eng- 
land with the tale of his discoveries. The people of Bris- 
tol were extremely proud of their "Great Admiral/' as he 
was now called. Whenever he walked the streets, dressed 
in silks and velvets, great crowds would follow him. He 
was especially loved by children, who crowded round him 
to hear him tell of his wondrous voyage. 

In 1498 John Cabot determined to undertake another 

69 




Sebastian Cabot when an Old Man. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

voyage, and in April of that year he and Sebastian sailed 
with five or six ships. They sailed much farther north 
in the hope of finding a short passage to India. But the 
extreme cold of the northern region "chilled their en- 
thusiasm," as Sebastian said; so they turned and sailed 
south along the American coast. 

Only one of the six ships returned to England; and it 
is feared that John Cabot was lost at sea, as nothing more 
was ever heard of him. 



Summary 

In 1497, England sent John Cabot to find a western passage 
to China. — John Cabot and his son Sebastian explored the coast 
of Labrador and claimed the land for England. — The next year 
they tried a more northerly route, but, not finding a westward 
passage, sailed south along the coast of North America. 



VII 
THE SPANISH CONQUESTS AND EXPLORATIONS 

PONCE DE LEON 

The discovery by Columbus of a supposed sea route to 
Asia aroused the Spaniards both young and old. Many, 
attracted by the hope of gold or the love of adventure, left 
Spain for the new land. 

Colony after colony was planted in the West Indies. 
Colonial governors were appointed; and practically a new, 
but crude, Spain was established. Then, feeling that noth- 
ing was too great to attempt with the long sea voyage safe- 
ly over, the boldest of the adventurers sailed away again, 
each bent upon finding what seemed to him most desirable. 

One of these Spanish seekers was called Juan Ponce de 
Leon. He had come to the new land with Columbus on 
his second voyage and, remaining, had been made Gov- 
ernor of Porto Rico. This was very fine, but the Gov- 
ernor had his own reasons for not being perfectly happy. 
He was growing old, and to enjoy this new life thoroughly, 
a man should have the vigor of youth. 

If only he were young again! With this great wish in 
his heart, Ponce de Leon one day heard of an island on 
which was a marvelous fountain. Whoever should drink 
of the water of this fountain, no matter how old he was, 
would find himself young again. Here was just what 
Ponce de Leon wanted above all else. He determined to 
find the Fountain of Youth at any cost. The Spanish 

71 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

King gave him permission to go in search of the island and, 
if he found it, to become its governor for life. So Ponce 
de Leon had three splendid ships built with his own money 
and, when they were completed, started on his travels. 
This was in 1513. 

One day the sailors spied land. On approaching, they 
found it to be a glorious country, full of splendid groves 
and beautiful wild flowers growing in the tall grasses and 
along the low shores. And the singing of the birds among 
the branches sounded sweet indeed. 

It was Easter Sunday, called by the church Pasqua 
Florida, or Flowery Easter; so, in honor of the day, and 
also because of the beautiful wild flowers, Ponce de Leon 
named the country Florida. He landed where St. Augus- 
tine now stands and took the land in the name of the King 
of Spain. 

He explored the country for many miles along the 
coast. But beautiful as it was, its birds and wild flowers 
failed to tell him where to find the Fountain of Youth. 
So this poor knight had to sail back to Porto Rico, an 
older and wiser man than when he left. 

In 1521 Ponce de Leon sailed again for his flower prov- 
ince to found a colony. But the natives were hostile. 
When the Spaniards landed, a storm of poisoned arrows 
greeted them. Many of the soldiers were killed. Ponce de 
Leon himself was wounded. A few who managed to escape 
to their ships bore their leader with them. They sailed to 
Cuba, and there Ponce de Leon died — an old man still. 

The Fountain of Youth has never been discovered. 



BALBOA 

One day there came to a certain Indian village on the 
Isthmus of Panama, a party of Spaniards. At their head 

72 



THE SPANISH CONQUESTS 

marched Balboa, the commander of the Spanish-Panama 
settlement. 

So great a guest must be received with all possible 
ceremony. The visitors were welcomed to the home of 
the chief himself, and every honor was showered upon 
them. The Spaniards, in turn, were on their best be- 
havior. Cordial greetings, compliments, and expressions 
of lasting friendship filled the air. 

Then the Indian chief was moved to show even more 




Balboa Reaches the Pacific Ocean. 



plainly his love for the white man. So he gave Balboa 
seventy slaves and much gold. 

As if by magic all was confusion. The greedy Span- 
iards began to quarrel over the gold, and hot words put 
a sudden end to the pleasure of a moment before. 

With offended dignity the Indians watched and lis- 
tened. At last the chief's son rose and said, "Brothers, 
your actions lead us to think you set great value on this 
yellow stuff, since you quarrel over it. If this be true, 
why do you not go to the southland, on the shore of the 

73 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

great western sea, where there is more than enough for 
all?" 

Why not, indeed? This simple question resulted in 
Balboa's going in search of the new sea. 

His journey was a hard one. Over rocky hills and 
through vine-entangled forests he and his men made their 
way day after day. At last they came to the foot of a 
great mountain. While his companions rested, Balboa 
climbed up — up, until the very top was reached. And, 
behold! there lay below him a sight no other European had 
ever seen — the glittering waters of the Pacific Ocean. 

Afterwards Balboa waded knee-deep into this greatest 
of seas; and there, drawing his sword, he struck the water 
with its blade and solemnly claimed the ocean with all the 
lands washed by its waters as the property of Spain. This 
was in 1513. 



HERNANDO CORTEZ 

Some few years after Balboa's wonderful discovery, 
an exploring expedition, which had sailed from Cuba, re- 
turned to that island. The leader 
had startling news to tell. He 
and his men had been to Mexico 
and had found there many won- 
drous things. The country was 
ruled by the Aztecs — a race of 
Indians who worshiped the sun 
and moon and the god of war. 
Unlike the natives of the West 
Indies, the Mexican Indians had 
beautiful temples and palaces; 
and they boasted of the endless 
gold to be had in their country. 

So gold had been found at last! Nothing more was 
74 




Hernando Cortez. 



THE SPANISH CONQUESTS 

needed to make Mexico seem an enchanted country to the 
Spaniards. 

No time was lost in getting ready a new expedition and 
in choosing for its leader a brave, daring young Spanish 
soldier named Hernando Cortez. Unlike Ponce de Leon, 
Cortez set out, not merely to follow a will-o'-the-wisp, but 
to make an actual conquest. How well he succeeded may 
be judged from the fact that in August, 1521, the Aztecs 
surrendered their capital, — the city of Mexico, — and Mex- 
ico became a Spanish land. 



HERNANDO DE SOTO 

Young Hernando de Soto was counted among the 
most courageous of the Spanish soldiers who risked their 
lives in making explorations and conquests in the new 
lands. And to him, in return 
for his services, Charles V of 
Spain gave the governorship 
of Cuba. 

Yet De Soto was not. con- 
tent. Though rich he wanted 
more gold. So in 1 539 he fitted 
out an expedition and, taking 
six hundred men and two hun- 
dred horses, sailed west, landed 
on the eastern coast of Florida 
and began a march inland. 

The Spaniards were nat- 
urally very cruel. They car- 
ried with them fetters to bind the captured, and blood- 
hounds to bring back runaway prisoners. The soldiers 
seized the poor natives, chained them in couples and, 
driving them like beasts, forced them to carry the baggage. 

75 




Hernando de Soto. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



If an Indian refused to act as guide or in any way dis- 
obeyed, his punishment was terrible. The least he could 
hope for was to have his hands chopped off. Death by 
torture was the common fate. It is no wonder that such 
treatment made the Indians hate the Spaniards and in 
turn lose no chance to do them harm. 

Owing largely to this bitter feeling, De Soto's journey 
was full of dangers almost from the very start. He had 
hoped to find a country full of gold and had promised his 

soldiers great rewards. 
But they were doomed 
to disappointment. 
The Indians would tell 
them very little and, 
when forced to act as 
guides, would often 
lead them into some 
swamp and, slipping 
away, leave them to 
get out as best they 
could. 

Two years were 

spent in making this 

tedious march across 

the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. 

Still no quantity of gold was found, and still the brave 

but brutal leader would not turn back. 

One spring day in 1541, the Spaniards, worn out and 
discouraged, were making their way through a dense 
forest. Suddenly through an opening in the trees they 
caught the blue gleam of a river. Hurrying to its banks 
De Soto beheld the mighty Mississippi, the Father of 
Waters. The object of his long search was gold; but had 
De Soto found merely what he sought, his name would not 

76 




The Route of De Soto. 



THE SPANISH CONQUESTS 

have had so large a place in our history. To be known as 
Hernando de Soto, the first white man to behold the Mis- 
sissippi River, is a distinction not to be equaled by the find- 
ing of untold wealth. 

Not realizing what the discovery meant, De Soto was 
still bent on continuing his search for gold. Perhaps it lay 




De Soto Discovering the Mississippi River. 

just across this great river. At any rate he would find 
out. Soon all hands were busy building rafts to carry the 
little army to the other side. 

There the weary search began again. For many 
months De Soto wandered over the country on the west 
bank of the Mississippi. Still no gold. With the disap- 
pointment and the hardships he was fast wearing out. 
Then he caught a fever and soon died. 

The condition of his followers was pitiful. Between 
their sorrow at the loss of their leader and their fear of the 
Indians, they did not know where to turn. 
7 77 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

De Soto had told the Indians that he was a Child of the 
Sun, and that death could not touch him, so they had 
a wholesome fear of him. What if they should find out 
now that De Soto was dead! Nothing was more likely 
than that they would at once attack and kill his men. In 
some way his death must be kept secret. 

So, prompted by fear and moving like ghosts, the men 
wrapped their leader in a cloak, weighted it down with 
sand, and at midnight silently lowered him into the quiet 
waters of the Mississippi River. Then, telling the Indians 
that he had gone to heaven for a short visit and would soon 
be back, they broke camp and started for home on foot. 
Later they made boats and floated down the Mississippi 
River to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Of the gay six hundred who sailed away from Cuba in 
1539, only three hundred, half-starved and wretched, 
reached the Spanish settlements in Mexico to tell the 
story of De Soto's great discovery. 



Summary 

Spain established colonies and governments in the New 
World, from which further explorations and conquests were 
made. 

Ponce de Leon, Governor of Porto Rico, in his search for the 
Fountain of Youth, explored and named Florida, 1513. 

Balboa, commander of a settlement in Panama, discovered 
the Pacific Ocean, 1513. 

Cortez, a Spanish soldier from Cuba, conquered the Aztecs in 
the City of Mexico, 1521. 

De Soto, governor of Cuba, discovered the Mississippi River, 
1541. 

78 



VIII 
ENGLISH EXPLORERS AFTER CABOT 

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

Sixty years after Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean, 
another man looked down from a Panama mountain peak 
on the same wonderful view. He was an Englishman 
named Francis Drake. And as he looked out on the shin- 
ing blue waves he thanked God that he had been per- 
mitted to be the first Englishman to see this mighty ocean 
and prayed that he might "sail once in an English ship 
on that sea." 

As a boy, Drake was apprenticed to the owner of a 
channel coaster. It was hard service, and the boy had a 
bad time. Still he did his duty so well and seemed so at 
home on the sea that he completely won the old skipper's 
heart. When the man died, he left his ship to Drake. 

For the first half of the sixteenth century Spain had 
practically ruled the seas. Her ships had come and gone 
across the Atlantic, and her trade had been the greatest 
of any of the European nations. But about the middle of 
the same century Elizabeth became Queen of England; and 
under her reign, England, too, grew to be a maritime power 
and sent out ships to build up her trade with foreign lands. 

Was it not natural that, hearing of the thrilling voy- 
ages of these ships, young Drake should not long be con- 
tent with a mere channel coaster? Before a great while he 
sold his vessel and started on a slave-trading journey be- 

79 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



tween Africa and the West Indies. This was in 1567, the 
year Drake was twenty-two years old. 

Later he made three other voyages on which he raided 
Spanish ships, took Spanish prisoners, and made himself 
a veritable terror to the Spanish settlements in the West 
Indies and along the Gulf of Mexico. It was on the last 

of these voyages that 
Drake first beheld the 
Pacific Ocean. 

Years before, in 
fact during the very 
time Cortez was busy 
conquering Mexico, an 
adventurous navi- 
gator, a Portuguese, 
sailing under the Span- 
ish flag, had made a 
wonderful voyage. 
This bold sailor was 
Ferdinand Magellan. 
Down the eastern 
coast of South Ameri- 
ca he had slowly made 
his way until he had 
reached the straits 
which now bear his name. Then, passing through the 
straits, he had entered the Pacific, had crossed that great 
ocean, and had discovered the Philippine Islands. Here 
Magellan was killed by the natives; but his sailors, going 
on, had reached Spain in 1522, being the first to circum- 
navigate the globe. 

Francis Drake now planned to reach Peru, a rich 
Spanish possession, by following Magellan's course. In 
November, 1577, he embarked from Plymouth with five 

80 




Sir Francis Drake. 



ENGLISH EXPLORERS AFTER CABOT 



ships and one hundred and sixty-four men. For fifty- 
four days they saw no land. Then the shores of Brazil 
came in sight. At last the Straits of Magellan were 
reached and Drake passed through them. His flagship, 
the Golden Hind, was the only one of his fleet that entered 
the Pacific. The 
other ships either 
had turned back 
or had come to 
grief on the rocks. 

To attack the 
Spanish ports of 
Peru with one 
ship certainly 
seemed foolhardy. 
But Drake per- 
haps realized that 
these ports had no 
real defense. You 
see the Spaniards 
themselves car- 
ried their cargoes 
across the Isthmus 
of Panama, be- 
cause a southern 
route was considered very dangerous and very long. And 
without doubt it never entered a Spanish mind that any 
foe would come that way, or that defense was needed. 
So, sailing bravely up the coast of Chili, Francis Drake, in 
his single ship advanced on Peru. 

It seemed almost as if the Spanish gold, silver, and 
jewels must have been just waiting to be seized. Into 
port after port the Golden Hind dashed and came out 
again richer by enormous sums. Ship after ship fell an 

81 




Ferdinand Magellan. 



A FIRST BOOK. IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



easy prey to the English captain. Surprise was on every 
hand, resistance nowhere. 

At last, with plunder valued at millions of dollars, 
Drake was satisfied. Now he turned his attention to 
searching for some new passage by water from the Pacific to 

the Atlantic. Carefully 
examining the shores, 
he sailed north along 
the coast of California 
as far as the bay of San 
Francisco. 

Here he gave up his 
search and resolved to 
go home by way of the 
Pacific. According to 
custom, however, be- 
fore starting he took 
possession for Queen 
Elizabeth of the land 
he had been explor- 
ing, and called it New 
Albion. 

After crossing the 
Pacific Ocean, Drake 
rounded the Cape of 
Good Hope and 
sailed once more into 
the Plymouth port, in September, 1580. 

In recognition of his services Queen Elizabeth paid 
Drake a visit on the Golden Hind. As was fitting, Drake 
had a splendid banquet served in her honor. Then Eliza- 
beth asked Drake to kneel before her, and in the presence 
of his many guests she knighted the brave mariner, who 
had first carried the English flag around the world. 

82 




From an old print. 

Admiral Drake Seizes Eight Peruvian 
Ships Laden with Silver. 



ENGLISH EXPLORERS AFTER CABOT 



SIR WALTER RALEIGH 

Sir Walter Raleigh was a brave and gallant Eng- 
lish knight who lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 
The story is told that one day, as the Queen approached 
the place where he was waiting with a crowd to see her 
pass, she paused before a muddy spot in the way. Raleigh, 
without a moment's 
hesitation, slipped his 
velvet cape from his 
shoulders and spread 
it out for her to walk 
on. This little act of 
courtesy greatly 
pleased Queen Eliza- 
beth, and ever after 
she remembered her 
gallant knight. 

Raleigh was born 
in a seaport town of 
Devonshire in 1552. 
Here large sailing ves- 
sels used to anchor to 
load and unload their 

Sir Walter Raleigh. 

cargoes. 

When a boy, Raleigh was like all other boys. There 
was nothing he enjoyed quite so much as going down to 
the wharves and hearing the sailors tell thrilling stories of 
the sea and the strange countries they had visited. Then 
Raleigh would say to himself, " When I am a man, I, too, 
will discover some new land." And though he never dis- 
covered a new land, he did much in attempting to found 
an English colony in America. 

Since the Cabots crossed the Atlantic, England had 
83 




A FIKST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

not sent out many exploring expeditions. But, as you 
know, Spain had done so; and her colonies were growing 
stronger than those of any other European nation, and her 
trade was greater. 

Never the best of friends with Spain, England natu- 
rally did not like to see Spain gaining more power than she 
herself across the sea. So, not to be outdone, the English 
made plans for planting colonies in America and for carry- 
ing on a larger trade with that country. 

Walter Raleigh was one of the men most enthusi- 
astic over these plans. It cost much money to send out 
a colony, but Raleigh was rich and a great favorite 
with the Queen. So he asked her to grant him a charter. 
This the Queen gladly did. 

Everything seemed to promise success to the future 
colonists. But to make assurance doubly sure, Raleigh 
thought best to send an exploring party ahead, so that 
when the colonists reached America they would know 
what to expect. With this in view, two vessels sailed 
away from England in 1584. Their anchors were cast just 
off the island of Roanoke; and going ashore the English 
found the climate delightful, the vegetation rich, and the 
Indians most eager to welcome them. 

Queen Elizabeth was so delighted when she heard of 
the glorious regions across the sea, that she named them 
Virginia, in her own honor. Elizabeth was not married 
and was proud of her title, "The Virgin Queen." 

Now there was nothing to delay the sending out of 
the colony, and soon the well-laden ships were on their 
way. In time Roanoke was reached, and the men and 
their goods were put safely ashore. 

So far so good. But from this time matters did not 
progress. The colonists were lazy. Instead of exerting 
themselves in tilling the ground and building homes, they 

84 



ENGLISH EXPLORERS AFTER CABOT 



wasted their time and lived on what they could get from 
the Indians. Of course the Indians did not like this 
arrangement. The English were only a burden to them, 
and constant quarrels arose. 

The next year Sir Francis Drake sailed up to Virginia 
to see how the colo- 
nists were getting 
along. He found 
them almost desti- 
tute and terribly 
homesick; and, 
yielding to their 
pleadings, he car- 
ried them back to 
England. 

As far as found- 
ing a colony was 
concerned, the ex- 
pedition had proved 
a failure. However, 
it brought about 
two results which 
became of great 
value to England. 
On their return, Sir 
Walter's colonists 
presented him with 
two kinds of plants 

which they had found growing on Roanoke Island. One 
was the potato, which, up to this time, the English had 
never known. They tried it and liked it so well that it 
has ever since been raised in their land. The other plant 
was tobacco, which the colonists had tried and had deemed 
worthy of being carried all the way to England. 

85 




From an old print. 

Setting up the Standard of Queen 
Elizabeth in Virginia. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Sir Walter tried the tobacco; and he, too, liked it. 
An amusing tale is told of what happened to Sir Walter 
one day as he was smoking. His servant, who had never 
before seen smoke come out of anyone's mouth, came 
into the room. He glanced at his master, thought he 
must be on fire, and rushed for a jug of water, which he 
promptly poured all over Sir Walter to put out the fire. 




A Rude Interruption. 



In 1587 Sir Walter Raleigh made another effort to 
colonize America. This time the colonists included women 
and children as well as men. 

Soon after they landed on Roanoke Island, a little girl 
was born. She was the first child of English parents to be 
born in America. Her name was Virginia Dare, and she 
was the granddaughter of John White, the Deputy Gov- 
ernor of the colony. 

86 



ENGLISH EXPLORERS AFTER CABOT 

Before long Deputy Governor White sailed back to 
England for new supplies. When he started, the colonists 
told him that, if, for any reason, they left Roanoke 
Island, they would carve on a tree the name of the place 
where he could find them; and that, if they, were in any 
trouble when they moved, he would see a cross cut above 
the name. 

Three years passed before Governor White came back 
to the island, and by that time there was no one to receive 
him. He could not find a single one of the colonists. 
Their homes were deserted, and the harbor was empty. 
Not a trace was left excepting the word " Croatoan " cut 
into the trunk of a tree, but there was no cross over the 
name. Croatoan was the name of an island not far away. 
But though search after search was made, not one of the 
missing colonists was ever found on that island or any- 
where else. 

Saddened and disappointed by the fate of his colonists, 
Sir Walter Raleigh gave up his idea of personally founding 
an English settlement in America. His experiment had 
cost him over forty thousand pounds. However, he still 
held firmly to his belief that this country would one day 
be an English nation. 

Summary 

The expedition of Magellan, a Portuguese sailing under the 
Spanish flag, was the first to complete a voyage around the world, 
1522. — Drake, an Englishman, circumnavigated the globe, 1580. 
On his way he explored the Pacific coast of the Americas. 

Raleigh, an English noble, tried, 1584, to establish a perma- 
nent colony in America. He was not successful, but England 
claimed the region and named it Virginia. 



87 



IX 
JOHN SMITH 

THE JAMESTOWN COLONY AND THE ADVENTURES 
OF JOHN SMITH 

In the year 1606 the London Company was formed in 
England to make settlements in America, and on the 
first day of January, 1607, this London Company sent 
out three vessels with one hundred and five colonists, all 
men. One of these was a wonderful man named Captain 
John Smith. 

John Smith was born in 1579, in England. His life 
was one of continuous adventure, much of which he tells 
in his autobiography. Many think that his accounts of 
his daring adventures and narrow escapes from death 
were exaggerated; but he was nevertheless a wonder- 
ful man, and his life as he tells it is very interesting. 

When yet a boy, Smith was anxious to travel and see 
strange lands, so at the age of fifteen he sold his books 
and ran away with the money. He went over to the 
continent of Europe and fought in the Dutch and French 
armies. 

He soon tired of this and thought he would like to go 
on a ship; so he boarded a vessel sailing to Italy. A severe 
storm arose; and the sailors, thinking him the cause of 
the tempest, threw him, like Jonah, into the sea. But 
young Smith was a fine swimmer and after a hard struggle 
reached an island. 

88 



JOHN SMITH 



A passing vessel picked him up. This ship was a war 
vessel. It soon met an enemy, and a battle ensued. 
Smith fought so bravely that he was given a share in the 
plunder of the captured vessel. 

Still looking for other adventures, our young hero 
turned his steps toward the east, where he joined the Aus- 
trian army, which 




was fighting the 
Turks. For his 
bravery he was 
made a captain. 

Ill luck soon 
overtook him, 
however. He was 
wounded in a bat- 
tle and left on the 
battlefield as dead. 
Lying there with 
dead and dying 
men on all sides, 
he was finally 
found and his 
wounds cared for. 
After a while, 
Smith was taken 
to Constantinople 
and sold as a slave. 
A Turkish lady 
aided him, but he was cruelly treated by her brother. 

One day while Smith was threshing grain, this cruel 
master rode up and insulted him. In his anger he smote 
the man and killed him. Then he swiftly exchanged his 
ragged clothes for those of his master and, hiding the body 
under some straw, fled. 

89 



SCALE OF MILES 



The Coast of Virginia. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



After traveling through other countries our adventurer 
arrived in England, just as the fever of American 3oloniza- 
tion was at its height. He, too, determined to go to 
America, and sailed with the London Company's settlers 
in 1607. 

LIFE IN JAMESTOWN 

The colonists had been told to put ashore on Roanoke 
Island, where Raleigh's ill-fated colonists had been. But 

a storm drove the ships 
into Chesapeake Bay, 
and the newcomers 
sailed up a beautiful 
river which they 
named after King 
James. It was now 
the middle of May. 
The place looked in- 
viting; the shores were 
covered with beau- 
tiful flowers and 
shrubs, and so the 
colonists determined 
to settle there, and 
named the settlement 
Jamestown. 

But it was not an 
easy task — this found- 
ing a colony. The hot Virginia sun and a terrible fever 
killed half of the settlers. 

Many of the Jamestown colonists were men of wealthy 
families and had never had to work. They thought 
manual labor a disgrace. But it soon became evident that 
some must work, or all would starve. The warm climate 

90 




From the original engraving in John Smith's 
" Historie of New England, Virginia, and 
The Summer Isles," published in 1624. 



JOHN SMITH 

had tended to make them all languid. Many were 
really lazy and preferred to search for gold than till 
the soil. 

John Smith soon showed these idle " gentlemen " how 
to hew trees and build huts. In his book he says, "The 
axes so oft blistered their tender fingers, that many times 
every third blow had a loud oath to drown the echo." 
Smith did not like to hear the men swear, so he devised a 
plan to make them refrain from it. He told them that at 
night, for every oath, he would pour a can of cold water 
down the swearer's sleeve. 

At first it was very hard to get enough food. So to 
keep the colonists from starving, Smith explored the coun- 
try, visited different Indian tribes, and bargained with 
them for such supplies as they could furnish. 

These settlers had no idea of the greatness of this 
country. A map of that time showed Virginia as a 
mere narrow strip of land between the Atlantic and 
the Pacific. Believing this to be true, Captain Smith 
decided to visit the Pacific and went on many exploring 
trips to the west of Jamestown in the hope of find- 
ing it. 

On one of these expeditions, Captain Smith and a few 
of his men fell into the hands of hostile Indians. All of his 
companions were killed, but Smith was saved by his pres- 
ence of mind. He diverted the Indians' attention by show- 
ing them a compass. The Indians had never seen anything 
like it before. They thought it marvelous. Then Smith 
wrote a message on a piece of paper and asked his captors 
to send it to Jamestown. When the Indians found that 
this wonderful prisoner "could make paper talk" to his 
friends, they were a little afraid of him and considered 
it wiser not to kill him, but to take him to their mighty 
chief, Powhatan. 

91 



A FIKST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

POCAHONTAS 

When John Smith was led as a captive before Pow- 
hatan, the great chief sat before his fire, dressed in rac- 
coon skins. On either side of him sat the squaws, and in 
front of the squaws stood the grim warriors, straight and 
stiff. It was a terrible moment for poor Captain Smith. 
Would they kill him at once, or could he still hope to save 
his life by amusing the Indians? Again the compass was 
brought out, and once more it worked a charm. The 
chief concluded to keep this entertaining person a prisoner. 

Now, Powhatan had a little daughter twelve or thir- 
teen years old. Her name was Pocahontas. She was a 
beautiful girl and her father's pet. She was allowed to 
spend much time with the old chief's prisoner; Smith 
told her strange stories, made whistles for her, gave her 
strings of beads, and so won her lasting love and affection. 

But before very long the novelty of the prisoner's com- 
pass and the marvel of his writing wore away. Smith had 
nothing new with which to amuse the Indians. They 
grew tired of him, and Powhatan ordered him to be killed. 
The day of the execution arrived. The whole tribe came. 
Smith was forced to lay his head on a block of stone. An 
Indian had just raised the hatchet for the fatal blow when 
Pocahontas rushed to Smith and, throwing her arms over 
his head, begged her father to spare his life. The old 
chief could never refuse his little daughter anything; and 
so Smith's life was spared, and he was sent back to James- 
town. 

When Captain Smith reached the colony again, he 
found it in a sad condition. During his imprisonment, 
matters had gone from bad to worse. With him away the 
lazy would not work, and nothing seemed to have been 
done. Sickness and famine had once more attacked the 

92 



JOHN SMITH 

settlers, and death was everywhere. Fortunately a vessel 
with provisions and more colonists soon anchored in the 
bay. But many of the newcomers were " fine gentlemen " 
like the first settlers. They too refused to do their share.. 
"We have not come here to work/' they boldly asserted. 




a Ttpw hefuhie&cdjg cfihi:ir\tn<i:. ~iaJL: ? b\jipr£. 



From the drawing in Smith's "Historie " of 1624. 

Pocahontas Saving John Smith. 

"If you will not work, you shall not eat/' said Smith;; 
and they soon found that he fully meant what he said. 

In the fall of 1609 Smith was dreadfully injured by the. 
explosion of a bag of gunpowder, and he was competed to, 
go to England for surgical aid. 

But as before, no sooner was he gone than the troubles- 
of the colonists began to increase. Now came what was; 
8 93 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

known as the "starving time." At last the colonists had 
to eat cats, dogs, rats; and, once, even an Indian was 
cooked and devoured. If more help had not come from 
England just when it did, the little colony would soon 
have been at an end. 

Then, too, the colonists were always in dread of In- 
dian attacks. The Indians were very treacherous, and 
Powhatan had played several wily tricks upon the white 
settlers. 

Such were the conditions between the white men and 
the Indians, when, by chance, a certain young colonial 
captain captured Pocahontas. She was visiting a neigh- 
boring tribe; and with a copper kettle he bribed the chief 
of this tribe to help him take the Indian girl prisoner. 
She was carried to Jamestown and kept as a hostage for 
her father's good behavior. 

In the years that had passed since Pocahontas saved 
the life of John Smith, she had grown still more beau- 
tiful. Living among the settlers, she quickly came to 
be beloved by all, and especially by a young Englishman 
named John Rolfe. And in 1614 she and John Rolfe 
were married. Both the settlers and the Indians were 
delighted over this marriage, for it created a strong, new 
bond between them. 

Two years before his marriage to Pocahontas, John 
Rolfe had begun the culture of tobacco in Virginia. Soon 
this came to be the leading industry of the colony. 

In 1619 a Dutch vessel sold twenty negroes to the 
settlers. They were made to till the soil and do manual 
labor. From time to time more slaves were brought 
over, and slavery and the culture of tobacco went hand 
in hand. Tobacco was becoming very popular in England 
and found a ready sale. Hence a nourishing tobacco trade 
with Europe resulted in a nourishing colony in America. 

94 



JOHN SMITH 

What had become of Captain John Smith? After his 
gunpowder wounds had healed, he had come back to 
America and explored the Atlantic coast from Maine 
many miles to the south. It was he who gave to this 
part of our country the name New England. He carefully 
made a map of the new section and on his return to Eng- 
land presented it to King Charles, the son of King James. 

The next year Smith set out again to found a colony 
in this region. Unfortunately he and his vessel were 
captured by the French, but after a while Smith escaped 
and fled back to England. He never returned to America 
after this, but remained in England and wrote several 
books on his travels. 

John Smith has been called "The Father of Virginia." 
Certain it is that it was through his bravery, tact, and 
resolute perseverance that the Jamestown colony weath- 
ered its first hard year in America, thus laying the foun- 
dation for one of the most important English settlements 
in the New World. 

THE INDIANS 

The Virginia colonists, the explorers who came to 
America before them, and the settlers who followed them, 
all found the country occupied by Indians. 

These Indians had copper-colored skins, were tall, and 
had small black piercing eyes and straight black hair. 

The race was divided into tribes, and each tribe was 
governed by its chief. Each tribe had its headquarters 
in some definite part of the country, although the men 
in hunting often wandered for miles into neighboring 
lands. 

The homes of the Indians varied according to the 
tribe. Some lived in log houses, some built rude houses 
of bark, while still other tribes had only circular wigwams. 

95 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

There was no chimney in any of these homes. The fires 
were built in fire pits dug in the ground, and the smoke 
escaped through a hole in the roof. 

The most important of the Indians' household goods 
was the pot. They had also some wooden dishes and 
trays, which they made themselves. They seldom had 
anything to sit upon, but squatted upon the ground. 
Some of them slept on small couches made of bul- 




From an old print. 

An Indian Palisaded Village. 



rushes. Others rolled themselves in skins and slept on 
the ground. 

The Indian's clothes were generally made from the 
dried skins of animals. He would wear the same skin 
until it wore out, and never thought of washing it. 
Cleanliness was little known among these people. They 
were very fond of bright colors and liked to deck them- 
selves with strings of shells or beads. In this love of 
finery, the men exceeded the women. 

The Indians lived mainly on game and fish. The game 
consisted of wild geese, ducks, deer, bears, and foxes. In 

96 



JOHN SMITH 



summer, game was very plentiful and easily found; but 
a struggle for existence began with the cold weather. 

The Indian despised manual labor. He spent his 
time in fishing, hunting, and fighting, and left all the hard 
work to his squaw. These squaws must have had their 
hands full, as they had to look after the house, the plant- 
ing of the garden, the children, and the cooking. 

An Indian mother was anxious to have each son grow 
up to be a manly, brave warrior. His first 
lesson was not to read a*nd write, but to 
use his bow and arrow. The little girls 
learned such housework as the Indians 
thought necessary and helped their moth- 
ers in the garden. 

Among some of the Indian tribes the 
women held a high place and were often 
consulted in matters of war and peace. 
Most of the Indian women were kind and 
gentle, but the men were usually very cruel. 

An Indian warrior's bravery was judged 
by the number of human scalps that hung 
from his belt. This prize trophy was cut 
from the head of each victim, sometimes 
even before he was dead. Because of this 
custom of cutting off scalps, the Indian 
warriors adopted a strange way of wearing 
their hair. Most likely it was partly to show that they 
did not fear death and partly as a challenge to their ene- 
mies to come and take their scalps if they could. Be that 
as it may, an Indian warrior had his hair cut short except 
on the top of his head. Here grew one long lock — the 
scalp lock. 

If an enemy was taken alive, he could be pretty sure 
that sooner or later he must die by torture. His only 

97 




Calumet, or 

Indian Peace 

Pipe. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Indian War 
Club. 



hope was that some member of his captor's 
tribe might ask that his life be spared. If 
this should happen, the prisoner would be 
adopted as a member of the victorious 
tribe. 

A favorite method of putting a prisoner 
to death was by burning him alive. He was 
tied to a stump, and fagots were piled around 
him and set on fire. The delight of the In- 
dians at this awfui sight was often so great 
that they would dance and howl like fiends 
around the poor victim. 

The war implements of the Indians were 
tomahawks, bows and arrows, and war clubs. 
The tomahawk looked much like a hatchet, 
but was made of stone. Later when the 
Indian saw the white man's weapons, he 
wanted to obtain them. For a long time gunpowder was 
a mystery to the savages. They thought that it grew 
from the ground. One of the Indian tribes sowed some 
in the spring, hoping that by autumn they 
would have a fine harvest. 

In warfare an Indian seldom came out 
in open battle, but preferred to send a swift 
arrow into an unsuspecting foe. He reasoned 
in this way : if he could kill his enemy, why 
should he endanger himself? 

The religious beliefs of the Indian were 
simple. The Great Spirit, all wise, loving, 
and powerful, ruled over all. But the spirit 
of some animal ruled and took care of each 
individual, and an Indian never killed the 
animal whose spirit formed his totem. After 
death, the spirits of the brave would go to 

98 




Indian Stone 
Ax. 



JOHN SMITH 

the happy hunting grounds, where hunting and fishing 
and eating were the chief pastimes. 

The Indians did not have a priesthood. The medicine 
man had some of the qualities of a priest. He pretended 
to be able to drive away evil spirits by the aid of 
magic. 

The Indian's education was a very severe one. He 
knew nothing about reading and writing, although he did 
make pictures which served as a kind of writing. But he 



^r/ i ' ^'^]B 


■jFyf' • 


Wk - * 





Indians Making a Canoe from the Trunk of a Tree. 

was skilled in woodcraft, in the art of war, and, above all, 
in self-control. 

It would not be at all fair to say that the American 
Indian was always cruel and revengeful. He had a good 
side to his nature which was just as strong as the bad side. 
No friend could prove truer than an Indian. He never 
forgot a kindness that had been done to him, and never 
failed to return it in some way. He would often divide 
his last ear of corn with a starving person. It was only 
after the settlers had shown hostility to the Indians 
that they found them the bitterest and most persistent 
of foes. 

99 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Summary 

In 1606, the London Company was formed in England to 
make settlements in America, and in 1607 founded Jamestown. 
— Through the efforts of John Smith, Jamestown was made a 
permanent English settlement, the first in America. Here the 
•culture of tobacco was undertaken; and, in 1619, slavery was 
introduced to supply laborers for the plantations. — John Smith 
•explored the surrounding country and the Atlantic coast, made 
a map of the region, and wrote a book about it. 

The Indians were divided into tribes, each governed by a 
chief. — They built wigwams or huts; dressed in skins of ani- 
mals; lived by hunting, fishing, and planting; and made by hand 
rude weapons and utensils. — The Indians were stealthy, cruel, 
and revengeful in war, but of great courage, endurance, and 
self-control. 



X 

MILES STANDISH AND THE PILGRIMS 

WHY THE PILGRIMS LEFT ENGLAND 

Three hundred years ago the kings of England had 
almost absolute power. The people had very few rights, 
either in church or government. 

When James I came to the English throne he held 
the same views as the rulers before him. He said, " I am 
the King and therefore can do no wrong." He said also 
that everybody must attend his church and worship in 
just the way he did. 

Now, there were a great many good people in England 
at this time who did not agree with the King's religious 
views. As it was impossible for them to conform to the 
rules of the Established Church, they separated from the 
Church of England and held services according to their 
own ideas in their own churches and in private homes. 
In consequence they were called Separatists. 

King James became greatly indignant with the Sepa- 
ratists and finally made a law forcing everybody to attend 
his church and no other. 

The Separatists, however, -firm in their own belief, 
said that they would not and could not obey this law. 
Instead of giving up their religion, they loved it still more 
and resolved to suffer and, if need be, die for it. Yet 
they were cautious. They no longer held public meetings 
but gathered together privately to worship God. Often- 

101 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



times numbers of them journeyed from place to place, that 
they might carry on their services unmolested; and for 
this reason these wanderers became known as Pilgrims 
as well as Separatists. Still, in spite of all their precau- 
tions, the King's watchful officials, whenever possible, 

would imprison them, fine 
them heavily, and often lead 
them to the gallows. 

At last, in 1608, a company 
of Pilgrims fled to Holland, 
where religious freedom was 
granted to all. From time to 
time other bands of Pilgrims 
came from England, until in a 
few years several hundreds of 
English were living on Dutch 
soil. They lived there very 
happily for almost twelve 
years. The Dutch liked them 
because they were good and 
diligent citizens, and they in 
turn liked the thrifty Dutch. 
But as the years passed, 
these Pilgrims were not so well satisfied as at first. They 
saw that their children were acquiring the Dutch language, 
Dutch ways and customs, and were forgetting all about 
England. It must be remembered that although the Pil- 
grims wanted religious liberty, they dearly loved England 
and always had been true English at heart. It hurt them 
to see their children gradually becoming Dutch. Then, 
too, they thought the Dutch were not as religious as them- 
selves and were setting their children a bad example. 

Owing to all this, the Pilgrims at length decided to seek 
another country. They thought of several places, but 

102 




James I of England. 



MILES STANDISH AND THE PILGRIMS 

none seemed so desirable as America. Surely here, if 
anywhere, they could found a little colony of their own 
and live unmolested the life that pleased them best. 



THE PILGRIMS IN AMERICA 

There were about a thousand Pilgrims in Holland at 
the time the new colony w r as decided on. It was of course 



5- 4* *■■■ * 

fr .- + 

- -W 




M&' \ % - 









From the fresco by C. W. Cope, R.A., in the Neiv Palace of Westminster. 
Departure of the Pilgrims from Delft Haven, 
July, 1620. 

impossible for all to go, as money was not plentiful and the 
trip was expensive. So they selected the young and strong 
members of the church as best fitted to withstand the hard- 
ships which lay ahead. 

In due time all arrangements were complete, and the 
hour for starting arrived. It was a sad farewell that sep- 
arated these brave and fearless people. Kneeling down 

103 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



together for the last time, they prayed that God would 
keep from danger those that stayed and those that went. 
In July, 1620, this band of brave Pilgrims left the port 
of Delft Haven on the vessel Speedwell. Another vessel, 
the Mayflower, with friends from England, was waiting for 
them at Plymouth. When they arrived in England they 

found that the 
Speedwell was 
too shaky to 
undertake the 
voyage, so all 
went on board 
the Mayflower 
and sailed for 
the New World. 
There were 
just one hun- 
dred and two 
men, women, 
and children in 
this company. 
Among them 
were many 
brave men, such 
as John Carver, 
William Brew- 
ster, William Bradford, and a soldier by the name of Miles 
Standish. This soldier was not a Pilgrim. Like John 
Smith, he loved adventure; and so sincerely did he admire 
the pluck and perseverance of the Pilgrims that he vol- 
unteered to go with them and help them. 

The trip across the ocean was long and wearisome. 
Storms came up, and the poor people had to remain below 
deck most of the time. The frail vessel was so tossed by 

104 




From the portrait in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, Mass. 
Miles Standish. 



MILES STANDISH AND THE PILGRIMS 

the winds and waves that it seemed as if they would never 
see land again. 

At last after many weary weeks they saw the American 
coast stretched out before them; and on a bleak, wintry 
day, they rounded the end of Cape Cod and sailed into 
what is now called Provincetown Harbor. You can hardly 
imagine with what hope and yet with what fear they 




The "Mayflower" in Plymouth Harbor. 



gazed at the snow-laden trees, the bare coasts, and the 
dark skies above. 

It was while the Mayflower was lying at anchor in this 
bay that the Pilgrims drew up a written agreement in the 
cabin of the ship. In this agreement it was stated that all 
were to have equal rights; that they would live in peace 
and help and defend one another in time of need. They 
elected John Carver governor and agreed to obey such 
laws as should seem necessary later on. 

For a month they sailed along the coast of Massachu- 
setts Bay, endeavoring to find a suitable place to disem- 
bark. During these days Miles Standish proved a very 

105 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



useful friend to the Pilgrims, and it was he who finally 
chose the spot for the colonists to land on. 

It was on the 21st of December, when the ground was 
knee-deep with snow and the weather biting cold, that 
the Pilgrims left the vessel to make their new home in this 
place, which John Smith had already called Plymouth. 
Near the water's edge a large bowlder was lying, and this 
rock the Pilgrims used as a stepping-stone from their small 
boat to the dry land. To-day if you should go to Plymouth 

you would see among many 
curious relics of the Pilgrims 
this interesting rock. 

A large log house was 
hastily constructed, in which 
they all could live until they 
were able to build separate 
homes for each family. 

As the winter advanced, 
the Pilgrims suffered great 
hardships. Food was getting 
scarce. They had used up 
most of the provisions brought from England. The men 
were nearly worn out by the heavy work they were doing. 
No wonder that with all these hardships so many be- 
came ill and died. Those who remained well and strong 
— and there were only a few of them — nursed the sick. 
The large log house was turned into a hospital. When 
spring came, only fifty were left of the one hundred and 
two who had sailed from England. Governor Carver was 
one of those who died and William Bradford was chosen 
governor in his place — a position he held for thirty-one 
years. 

In order that the Indians might not know to what a 
small number they had been reduced, the settlers buried 

106 




Plymouth Rock. 



MILES STANDISH AND THE PILGRIMS 



their dead at night and leveled the graves so that they 
would not be noticed. 

Yet, despite the hard winter, when the Mayflower re- 
turned to England in the spring, not one person cared to 
go back. Liberty with all its 
hardships was sweeter than life 
in their old home. 

One day an Indian came into 
the village, of Plymouth and called 
to the people in English, "Wel- 



come Englishmen!" His name 




was Samoset, and he had learned 
a little English from fishermen on 
the Maine coast. He stayed over- 
night and left the next morning. 

Shortly afterwards Samoset 
returned with another Indian 
called Squanto, who told the Pil- 
grims that the chief of his tribe, 
Massasoit, was coming to visit 
them. In an hour's time Massa- 
soit came with sixty followers. 
The Pilgrims received him with all 
possible show. They marched to 
meet him, carrying their guns and 
beating all the drums they could 
muster. The chief seemed much pleased, and a peace 
compact was drawn up. This peace was kept for over 
fifty years between these Indians and the English. 

Squanto afterwards came and lived in Plymouth and 
proved a valuable friend. He taught the English the 
way to plant corn, peas, and barley, and acted as inter- 
preter between them and the neighboring tribes in their 
fur trading. 

107 



The Flag of New Eng- 
land Used by the Plym- 
outh Colony. 

Note. — At the upper left- 
hand corner of the flag the 
globe represents the World — 
the white place in it shows the 
supposed amount of land. The 
cross in the white field is red; 
the rest of the flag is a bright 
blue. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

When spring came, the Pilgrims grew more hopeful. 
They had twenty acres of corn and six of barley and peas 
planted, and this promised a splendid harvest. With 
the autumn the promise was fulfilled. When they had 
gathered their first harvest, the Pilgrims found them- 
selves well supplied with grain for the coming winter. 

Unlike many people, they did not forget who the 
Giver of all this bounty was. They set aside one day for 
a thanksgiving for the harvest; and then, thinking the 
best way to show their gratitude was to give pleasure to 
others, they invited Massasoit and ninety of his Indians 
to join them in a celebration. Massasoit brought five 
deer for the feast. The Pilgrims themselves had sent 
men out to shoot wild turkey. For three days these 
friendly neighbors passed the time in feasting and out- 
door games. From this happy beginning has grown our 
national custom of observing a Thanksgiving Day in the 
fall of each year. 

Not all the Indians, however, were as friendly to the 
whites as were Massasoit and his tribe. One day Canoni- 
cus, the chief of a tribe hostile to Massasoit, sent a bundle 
of arrows wrapped in a snake skin to Miles Standish. 
This was a sign of war. Standish was a brave man and 
did not fear the threat. He kept the arrows and, filling 
the snake skin with powder, returned it to Canonicus. 
This was enough. Canonicus thought it best to leave the 
English alone. 

As the months passed, the Pilgrims were becoming 
more and more settled. Starting with only the large log 
cabin which they had built when they first landed, they 
had now quite a village of separate houses for the different 
families. 

These log houses were not like our houses of to-day. 
The tiny windows were covered with oiled paper instead 

108 



MILES STANDISH AND THE PILGRIMS 

of glass, which was too expensive. Instead of dividing 
the house into dining room, kitchen, and parlor, the Pil- 
grims had one big room. The cooking was done over 
the fire under the large chimney. They had scarcely any 
furniture. Instead of comfortable chairs, they had blocks 
of wood covered with the furs of wild animals. In one 
corner stood the large spinning wheel on which the mother 
and daughters spun yarn for the family use. 

The church which these people attended was simple 




From painting by Boughton. 

The Pilgrims Going to Church. 



and crude like their homes. Never safe from the Indians, 
the Pilgrims, even on Sunday, would march to church 
with their guns over their shoulders. 

The life of the Pilgrim children was a busy and yet a 
happy one. Both boys and girls had to help their parents 
in the daily toil. Then they had their schools to attend- 
The schoolhouses were built of clumsy logs with a roof of 
dried grass and seaweeds. Inside, the walls were bare. 
There were no pictures and maps to help the children 
understand their lessons. The teachers were exceedingly 
9 109 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

strict and thought it wrong for children ever to waste 
time in play. 

On Sunday the children had to walk very quietly to 
church, and to sit perfectly still through the reading of 
a sermon which was sure to last one hour, and often 
lasted two. 

At night they sat around the fire while their father 
read the Bible to all his family; and then they went to bed. 
If by chance they should lie awake, they were pretty sure 
to hear the howling of the hungry wolves which prowled 
about outside. It was a dreary sound. 

And so passed the days and nights of the Pilgrim 
children, until they grew to be God-fearing men and 
women, honored to this day for the part they took in es- 
tablishing the first New England colony. 



Summary 

The second permanent colony in this country, and the first in 
New England, was settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. 
— The colonists were Separatists, or Pilgrims driven from Eng- 
land by religious persecution. — Before landing, they made a 
written agreement for governing themselves, and elected John 
Carver governor. They made a peace compact with the Wam- 
panoag Indians, which was kept for fifty years. — After a winter 
of great hardship, the abundant harvest of 1621 was celebrated 
by a thanksgiving feast. This gave rise to our national Thanks- 
giving. 



XI 
GOVERNOR WINTHROP AND THE PURITANS 

THE PURITANS COME TO AMERICA 

The Pilgrims were not the only people who did not 
agree with all the forms of the Church of England. There 
were others, who, while not leaving the church, wished to 
have the service more simple. As they expressed it, they 
wanted "to purify" the church. They were called Puri- 
tans. 

In the early days of the Pilgrim settlement, the Puri- 
tans in England were having much the same trouble in 
carrying out their religious ideas that the Pilgrims had 
undergone. And it did not take them many years to de- 
cide to follow their Pilgrim friends to America, where they, 
too, could have freedom of worship. 

The first little party of Puritans to leave England 
settled in 1628 at Salem, a name which means "peace." 
They were soon followed by another band headed by John 
Winthrop. There were over seven hundred, and many 
of them were from families of education and rank. 

It was in March, 1630, that they bade farewell to 
England. In June they reached the Massachusetts coast. 

A very different reception awaited the Puritans from 
that which had greeted the Pilgrims. Even Nature was 
doing her best. In place of the barren, snow-covered land, 
which seemed to frown upon the landing of the Pilgrims, 
bright flowers and green trees now nodded and waved a 
cheerful greeting. 

Ill 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Finding a suitable location not far from Salem, it did 
not take the Puritans long to build a new town, which 
they named Boston. These two settlements were known 
as the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and John Winthrop 
became their governor. 

When autumn came, the people realized that their 
food supply was nearly at an end. They had used all their 

corn and were forced 
to make flour of the 
acorn. Instead of 
fresh game, they had 
to be satisfied with 
clams and crabs. And 
with the cold, bleak 
winds of winter came 
still more suffering 
and famine. 

During all the suf- 
fering Governor Win- 
throp cheered and en- 
couraged the colonists 
with bright hopes for 
the future. 

A touching story is 
told which shows how 
loving and kind he was. One day a poor, half-starved 
man came to him and begged for a morsel of bread. The 
Governor had only one loaf left; but, seeing that the man 
needed it more than he did, he gave it to him. On that 
very day a vessel with fresh supplies arrived from England. 
Many other like acts were done by Governor W 7 inthrop. 
When a man once came to him and complained that a 
certain neighbor was stealing his wood Governor Win- 
throp seemed very angry and said, " Does he so? I'll take 

112 




John Winthrop. 



WINTHROP AND THE PURITANS 

a course with him. Go call that man to me. I'll warrant 
you I'll cure him of stealing." 

The poor thief came, trembling and frightened. The 
Governor looked him over, saw how poor he appeared, 
" and said, " Friend, this is a very hard winter. I doubt you 
were but meanly provided with wood, wherefore I would 
have you help yourself at my wood pile till this cold season 
be over." And there was no more complaint of the man's 
stealing wood. 

At the end of a year a thousand immigrants had arrived 
from England, and Boston was growing to be a large town. 
As the colony grew, it was necessary to have laws by 
which to govern the people. These laws were very strict. 
They were made by representatives chosen by the colonists. 
This was the first step toward a government by the people. 

Even the daily life of the settlers was lived according 
to rule. Sharply at nine every night a bell rang out the 
curfew, and all had to go at once to bed. At half-past 
four in the morning another bell warned the people that it 
was time to be up and doing. 

Twice each Sunday everyone must attend church. 
During service the men sat on one side of the church, and 
the women on the other. The little girls sat on low stools 
at their mothers' feet. The boys sat together, either in a 
pew or on the pulpit steps. 

Then there was the tithing man, who carried a long 
stick with a hare's foot on one end and a hare's tail on the 
other. If a boy nodded during the long sermon, he was 
either tickled with the tail or rapped with the foot. His 
punishment depended on whether it was his first offense or 
a bad habit. 

Many bad habits were severely punished by the 
Puritans in these early colonial days. A cross, scolding 
woman was made to stand outside her door with a stick 

113 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

tied in her mouth. A man who was caught telling an 
untruth had to stand in some public place with a large 
sign hung from his neck. On the sign was printed the word 
"liar." The same kind of punishment was given a thief. 
The settlers of Boston were a very busy people. If 




The Chief Settlements Made in New England between 
1620 and 1675. 

a housekeeper wanted linen or woolen cloth, she must 
weave it. If her family needed mittens or stockings, she 
must first spin the yarn and then knit them. Nor must 
she neglect making the candles and soap. 

Each man must hunt and catch what his family were to 
eat. He must till the soil, raise crops and make most of 

114 



WINTHROP AND THE PURITANS 

the furniture and even many of the dishes for his home. 
And all this, after he had built the house itself, with the 
help of his neighbors. 

This helping of one's neighbors was a noted virtue 
among the first colonists. When a new settler came to 
the colony, the men had a " chopping bee," " a stump pull- 
ing," and a " raising"; and in a short time his land was 
cleared and his house built. Or, if a man's crops were too 
heavy for him to handle alone, his neighbors fell to with a 
will and, for pay, wanted only his thanks. 

It was the same with the women. They helped one an- 
other in house cleaning, rag-carpet making, and all the hard 
work; they visited and cared for the colony's sick, carry- 
ing them dainty dishes and nursing them back to health. 

Thanks to the help of Governor Winthrop, the colony 
prospered. Before many years public schools were es- 
tablished which proved the foundation of our present 
school system. This wise and generous Governor served 
his colony until 1 649, when he died. In the city of Boston 
there stands to-day a statue of John Winthrop to testify 
that his faithful services to the early Puritans were ap- 
preciated, not only by them, but by those who came after 

them. 

ROGER WILLIAMS 

In 1631 an earnest young Puritan named Roger Will- 
iams sailed from England for Massachusetts. He became 
a minister at Salem. 

It was true that the Puritans had left England to wor- 
ship God as they wished. And they had had a great deal 
to say about the King's trying to make people worship 
only as he worshiped. But once settled in America, their 
leaders did just the same thing. They ordered the colo- 
nists to attend the Puritan Church, and those who were not 
church members could not vote. 

115 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Now, Roger Williams soon saw that this was not at 
all the freedom the colonists should have. He believed 
that a man could vote just as well if he did not belong to 
the church. So he said, and so he preached. 

Moreover, Roger Williams told the colonists that they 
had no real right to the land where they were living. 
They replied that they had, because their charter granted 




Roger Williams Received by the Narragansett Indians. 



it to them. That made no difference, Williams insisted; 
the land belonged to the Indians, -and no English com- 
pany had a right to give it away, and no English col- 
onists had a right to live on it until the Indians had 
been paid. 

It was very alarming to the Puritan leaders to have 
Williams spreading such notions among the settlers. 
What was to be done about it? The good Puritan fathers 
held a council and decided that Williams must be sent 

116 



WINTHROP AND THE PURITANS 

back to England. A policeman was sent to arrest him, 
but he had fled. 

Thus in the dead of winter, Roger Williams became 
an exile in the desolate forests. For weeks he traveled 
through the snow, sleeping under any shelter he could find 
and living on parched corn, acorns, and roots. At last 
he reached the Indian tribe of which Massasoit was chief; 
and the friendly old Indian received him as a brother and 
fed and cared for him. 

Still he was within the boundaries of Massachusetts, 
and the Puritans would not have him there. He was 
warned to leave. So, buying from the Indians a tract of 
land on the shore of Narragansett Bay, Williams went to 
live where he would no longer be bothered by his enemies. 
He named his new land Providence "for God's providence 
to him in his distress." 

Others followed him, and there grew up the colony of 
Rhode Island, a colony where, in very truth, each man 
could believe and worship according to his heart's desire. 

For a while after this, the Puritans had no serious dis- 
turbances. Their next trouble came in a different way. 
A fierce war-loving Indian tribe, the Pequots, proved hos- 
tile to the Massachusetts settlers. They feared that the 
settlers would spread out and out and soon take all their 
land. This they did not mean to have, so they tried in 
every way to stir up the Narragansetts to join them in a 
massacre of the Massachusetts colonists. 

Here was Roger Williams's chance to show that he 
was willing to practice what he preached. Although he 
could not agree with the Puritans, he held no grudge 
against them because they had refused to listen to him 
and had turned him out. Going to the Narragansett In- 
dians, Williams urged them not to join the Pequots; and 
so great was his influence that they refused to fight. 

117 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 




The Pequots, nothing daunted, determined to attack 
the settlers nevertheless. They did not come out in open 
battle, but waylaid a party of whites and killed thirty of 
them. 

This must be stopped. So a small party of English, 

with a large number of 
friendly Indians advanced 
on the Pequots. Before 
sunrise one spring morn- 
ing in 1637, the English 
approached the Pequots' 
stronghold. All were 
asleep. Before the Indian 
sentries knew what had 
happened, the foe was in 
their midst. The fort was 
set on fire. Only five In- 
dians escaped, while more 
than four hundred per- 
ished. The great Pequot 
tribe was crushed, and 
nearly forty years of peace ensued. How different might 
have been the result, but for the forgiving spirit of Roger 
Williams! 

KING PHILIP'S WAR 

As time went on, the friendly old Indian chief Massasoit 
died. And when his son, King Philip, came to be ruler 
of the Wampanoag tribe, trouble began to brew for the 
New England colonists. King Philip did not inherit his 
father's love for the settlers. Far from it. 

There were several reasons why Philip looked with 
suspicion on the white men. The main one was jealousy. 
He saw them rapidly becoming powerful and occupying 

118 



}JfW 

RHODE ISLAND 



WINTHROP AND THE PURITANS 

large tracts of land. The land had been paid for, it is true. 
Yet the Indians did not enjoy being shut out of their old 
hunting grounds that they might be turned into fields for the 
crops and cattle of strangers. So, urged on by his braves, 
King Philip began sending messengers to friendly tribes, 
inviting them to join in a mighty war on "the palefaces." 

The English did not know that Philip was preparing 
for war till an Indian told the Governor of Plymouth. 
For doing so, this Indian was murdered by some of Philip's 
men. And these, in their turn, were hanged by the English. 

This was the crisis. The Indian chief's patience was 
at an end. These English must not hang his braves. 
Philip was very angry and in June, 1675, vented his wrath 
on the town of Swanzey. The war that followed was a 
terrible one. The settlers were in constant fear and 
danger. Hiding behind bushes and trees, the Indians let 
fly their death-dealing arrows. Many of the Indians used 
guns, which they had secured in trade from the white men. 

Oftentimes King Philip's braves, coming upon a house 
where a mother and her children were alone, would kill 
them and then burn the house. Imagine how the father 
must have felt when he came home from the fields and 
found that his whole family had been murdered! Im- 
agine how the children must have trembled in their beds 
when they heard the war whoops of the approaching In- 
dians! These savages often danced like fiends around 
their victims' houses, yelling and waving their tomahawks. 
Often a whole village would be burned to the ground, and 
the inhabitants killed or made captives. 

First, the settlements in southern Massachusetts were 
attacked. Then the Indians' fury was turned on those 
along the western frontier. As the cold weather drew 
near, King Philip gathered his warriors and joined 'the 
Narragansett tribe that they might camp together during 

119 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

the winter. The winter was not favorable to the Indians' 
mode of attack. The leafless trees did not provide a good 
screen. So these two Indian tribes chose a piece of rising 
ground in the middle of a great cedar swamp, and here 
they fortified themselves. Around their camp they built 
a thick wall of logs. Inside the wall they set up their 




Indians Surprising a Settlement. 



wigwams, and then nearly three thousand Indians settled 
down for the winter in what seemed to them perfect safety. 

Now was the white men's chance to strike a blow that 
the Indians would feel. The different settlements sent 
men, until a goodly army was ready to march against the 
Indian encampment. 

On the 19th of December, this army arrived at the 
cedar swamp. There was but one entrance to the fort, 
and but one way to reach the entrance. This was by 

120 



WINTHROP AND THE PURITANS 

crossing a brook on a fallen tree. The danger of such a 
crossing was plain. Still there was no hesitation. The 
soldiers rushed toward the log. 

In an instant the walls of the fort were alive, and the 
front rank fell before the first blaze of the Indian guns. 
Others sprang to take their places and were met by an- 
other volley. But nothing stopped the forward rush of the 
colonists. On they went, faster than the Indians could 
reload their guns. Crossing the log in spite of the firing, 
they rushed through the entrance into the fort. A hand- 
to-hand fight followed. Thinking of their murdered wives 
and children, the white men fought like tigers. The con- 
fusion was terrible. 

About sunset a blinding snowstorm filled the air; and 
under its protection, King Philip, the Narragansett chief, 
and many warriors, climbed the fortifications and fled 
into the forests. Then the English set the wigwams on 
fire and retreated with their wounded and captives, leav- 
ing the Indian women and children to die in the flames 
with the wounded braves. 

In this battle over a thousand Indians perished, and 
the power of the mighty Narragansett tribe was com- 
pletely broken. Still, the sad fate of so many braves only 
added to the hate of those warriors who had escaped. The 
war went on as savagely as ever all through the next 
summer. At last King Philip's wife and son were taken 
prisoners. This was a hard blow for the poor chief. " Now 
my heart breaks," he said, " and I am ready to die." 

Put though he may have been ready to die, he cer- 
tainly was not ready to make peace. When one of his 
warriors, discouraged by their small numbers, suggested 
peace to him, Philip promptly struck the man dead. 

Near by stood the brother of the murdered man. In 
an instant, all his loyalty to his chief was turned to hate. 

121 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

He would be revenged. At the first opportunity he slipped 
away and going to the English told them that they would 
find King Philip at his old home, Mount Hope. 

There on August 12th the avenger led a company 
of English soldiers, who surrounded the Indian chief 
before he suspected their presence. Hearing footsteps, 
Philip sprang to his feet and dashed for the woods. As he 
was fleeing past his betrayer, he received full in his heart 
the shot of the angry Indian. He fell on his face, his gun 
under him. Then his slayer sprang upon the body and 
chopping off the head, carried it in triumph to the English 
colony at Plymouth. This was the end of King Philip's 
War, and of the great tribe of the Wampanoag Indians. 

Summary 

Puritans, members of the Church of England who disliked 
some of its forms, settled at Salem, Massachusetts. — These were 
followed, in 1630, by other Puritans under John Winthrop, who 
founded Boston. — The settlements of Salem and Boston were 
known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John Winthrop was 
made governor of this colony. — The sturdiness, industry, and 
moral courage of both the Pilgrims and the Puritans, were a very 
large factor in the building of this country. — These colonists be- 
lieved in government by the people and in free public education. 

Roger Williams, a Puritan minister of Salem, was driven from 
the colony because of his liberal views. He fled to the land of 
the Narragansett Indians. Here, in 1636, he founded a settle- 
ment, which he called Providence. Complete religious liberty 
was allowed in Providence. 

In 1675, New England tribes joined under "King Philip." of 
the Wampanoags to get back their hunting grounds from the 
English. — The Indians destroyed Swanzey and settlements 
throughout Massachusetts, but were finally defeated. — After a 
year's pursuit, King Philip was killed. — By this war the power 
of the Indians in New England was completely broken. 

122 



XII 



HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCH IN AMERICA 



The hero of this story was an Englishman. He came 
of a good old English family. His home was in London, 
and somewhere he learned to sail the seas. This much, 
and little more, is known of the 
early life of Henry Hudson. 

When the events happened 
which make him stand out in his- 
tory, he was already a man. And 
from all he dared to do, he must 
surely have been a brave, perse- 
vering man. 

Imagine yourself sailing gayly 
out on the Zuyder Zee in -a little 
Dutch vessel one spring day in 
1609. You are bound for the 
north, fired with the belief that 
there lies the long-sought, much- 
desired short route to India, China, 
and Japan. Twice before you 
have sailed in English ships on 
this errand, and twice you have 

failed. This time you are sailing under the Dutch East 
India Company. Much depends on your success, and this 
time you must not — will not — fail. 

Look again, and see yourself a month later afloat on 
the Arctic Ocean, trying, trying to work your little Hal} 

123 




Flag of the Dutch East 
India Company. 

Note. — The color of the 
upper stripe is yellow, the 
next white with the letters in 
black; the lower stripe is blue. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Moon through the great blocks of ice which lie on every 
hand. Think of the piercing cold of this snow-bound re- 
gion. Listen to the frightened complaints of the sailors 
as they stoutly refuse to go on. And then ask yourself 
what you would do. Would you turn back, disheartened, 
or would you muster all your courage and try the next best 

course? Henry Hud- 
son chose the latter. 

Now, it happened 
that Captain John 
Smith and Henry Hud- 
son were great friends ; 
and John Smith had 
written to Hudson 
from Virginia of an 
effort he himself had 
made to find a passage 
across the new conti- 
nent. He had sailed 
up Chesapeake Bay 
and proved that there 
was no passage that 
way. Still he thought 
there might be one 
farther to the north. 
Balked as he was in his endeavors to sail around the 
north of Europe, Hudson remembered what Captain Smith 
had said. If there were a route to India to the north of 
Chesapeake Bay, why should not he, Henry Hudson, go 
in search of it, as long as his sailors would not sail any 
farther in the direction they had started? 

There was no reason. So Hudson turned his ship about 
and headed for America. South he sailed until he found 
himself off the shores of Virginia. There was no chance 

124 




Henry Hudson. 



HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 

of finding what he sought here, according to John Smith; 
so once more the Half Moon was turned about and headed 
north. 

The 3d of September was a clear, bright day. The 
blue sky, the gleaming waves, the swaying green forests 
along the coast, made a picture not to be forgotten. The 
little Dutch ship scudded along in the sunshine, while, 
from her bow, Henry Hudson watched the widespread- 
ing shores of a bay which opened just ahead. Might not 
this opening be the passage to the Pacific? Surely every- 
thing pointed that way. With his heart full of hope, the 
brave navigator ran his ship into the bay and dropped 
anchor. 

Then out from the shore glided light canoes. Their 
red-faced owners paddled nearer and nearer the strange- 
looking "great white bird/' as they called the white- 
sailed ship. Slowly the canoes circled round and round 
the Half Moon. At last, seeing no signs of danger, the 
Indians came close to the ship. Leaning over its side, 
Hudson politely asked the red men to come aboard. 

After this first visit,, the Indians came again and 
brought grapes, furs, pumpkins, and tobacco, which they 
gave the sailors for some knives and beads. 

A few days later the Half Moon was again under sail, 
and Henry Hudson was cautiously making his way up the 
great river which now bears his name. By the time Hud- 
son had sailed as far as Albany, the hope that he had 
found a water way to the Pacific had gradually faded 
away. Bitterly disappointed at finding the water grow- 
ing so shallow that he feared he might run his ship aground, 
he turned back and put to sea again. This was Henry 
Hudson's only visit to the Hudson River. 

On November 7th the Half Moon arrived at Dart- 
mouth, England. And from England, Hudson sent his 
10 125 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

report on to the Dutch East India Company in Holland. 
He told all the details of his voyage; still asserted that 
there must be a northwest way to reach India, and asked 
for more money and fresh sailors with which to make a 
new start in the spring. 

The Dutch East India Company read the report most 
carefully, and then they sent for Hudson to meet them 
and talk the matter over. 

But no! The English King would not listen to Hud- 
son's sailing again for the Dutch. If he could find a north- 
west route to the East, he should find it for England — not 
for Holland. So the little Half Moon was sent off home. 
And in April, 1610, Henry Hudson left England in an 
English ship for one more trial at reaching India. 

Sailing farther north than on his last voyage, Hudson 
this time entered the landlocked water which has ever 
since been called Hudson Bay. By the middle of Novem- 
ber, his ship was frozen hard and fast in the ice. It was 
dreadfully cold, food was growing scarce, and the sailors 
were wishing they had stayed at home. 

All winter and until the 18th of the next June the ice 
held. When it finally broke, the crew were determined to 
return to England at once. Hudson was just as deter- 
mined to push on toward the west. All held firmly to 
their own opinion. The crew would not sail west, and 
Hudson would not turn back. 

There was only one commander, and there were many 
sailors. So, being the stronger, the crew solved the ques- 
tion in their own way. Three days after the ice gave way 
they put Hudson, his son, and several sick men into the 
ship's open boat and set them adrift. Then the ship was 
faced about for home. 

What became of Henry Hudson, what hardships he 
suffered, and how long his little open boat lived among 

126 



HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 

the great blocks of floating ice, are things that will never be 
known. But it is doubtless true that the brave English 
mariner went down sooner or later in the icy waters of 
Hudson Bay. 

PETER MINUIT 

After Henry Hudson had crossed the ocean and ex- 
plored the river named for him, Dutch interest in the New 
World awakened. As the years went by, Dutch ships 
brought Dutch traders to the mouth of the Hudson. And 
these Dutch traders explored the neighboring country, 
which they named New Netherland; built a fur-trading 
post on the island of Manhattan, and put up a fort near 
the present site of Albany. 

Then a little later there was formed in Holland a com- 
pany known as the Dutch West India Company, and in 
1623 this Dutch West India Company sent a colonizing 
expedition to New Netherland. Thirty families came. 
Some of them went inland to settle, and some of them 
stayed on Manhattan Island and built cozy little Dutch 
houses. 

In 1626 Peter Minuit was appointed Governor of New 
Netherland and came to the Manhattan settlement. He 
was one of the best and wisest governors that the Dutch 
West India Company ever sent to look after their interests 
in America. 

Up to this time the Dutch had lived on the island of 
Manhattan without questioning whether it was right or 
wrong for them to do so. When Peter Minuit came, he 
said that the island belonged to the Indians, and that 
they must be paid for it before the Dutch could call it 
their own. So he sent to the Indians inhabiting Manhat- 
tan and asked them to sell the island to him. 

The Indian chiefs were willing to part with the land 
127 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

and sold the whole island to the Dutch for twenty-four 
dollars' worth of beads, ribbons, knives, and blankets. 

After Manhattan became Dutch property, Peter Min- 
uit built a blockhouse surrounded by strong palisades for 
the protection of the little town which was named New 
Amsterdam. During the summer more settlers came, 
and soon there were thirty houses in the village. Besides 




From a painting by Alfred Fredericks. 

Purchase of Manhattan by Peter Mintjit. 

these houses there was a large windmill, a flagstaff from 
which the Dutch colors floated in the breeze, and later a 
church. And the industrious Dutchmen soon felt much 
at home. 

Still the Dutch West India Company saw that some 
new inducement must be made if their colony was to grow 
fast enough to suit them. So they offered a tract of land 
to any member of their company who would agree to have 
fifty colonists settled on his property within four years. 

128 



HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 

Anyone accepting the offer could choose his own land 
along any river in the company's domain. If his estate 
lay on only one bank of the river, he could claim sixteen 
miles of shore line. Or, he could have eight miles on 
each bank. In either case his estate should run back 
from the river as far as he wished it to. The owners of 
these estates were to be called patroons. 

In a very short time five such estates were laid out. 
The patroons acted like lords. They did not need to ex- 
ert themselves, for they had all the help they could desire 
and almost absolute power over all the settlers living on 
their lands. 

In 1632 Peter Minuit was removed from the governor- 
ship of New Netherland and sailed away from New Am- 
sterdam after a short but useful service. 



PETER STUYVESANT 

Peter Stuyvesant was the last of the Dutch gov- 
ernors of New Netherland. He came to the colony in 
1647 and ruled for seventeen years. And they were try- 
ing years for both the people and the Governor. 

Peter Stuyvesant had many good qualities and many 
faults. He was loyal to the company that had appointed 
him and tyrannical to the people he governed. He was 
honest, brave, and fearless. But he was hot tempered, 
stern, and unrelenting. His motives were good, but his 
methods severe. Above all he was stubborn. So stub- 
born indeed that before he had been long in the colony he 
was nicknamed "Headstrong Peter." "Old Silverleg" 
was another name given him. 

These two nicknames illustrate perfectly the contra- 
dictory make-up of the man. The first one was given him 
because of his pig-headedness. The second came through 

129 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



loyal service to his country. He had lost a leg in battle 
and now stumped about on a wooden peg trimmed with 
bands of silver. 

Peter Stuyvesant found many trials awaiting him in 
New Netherlands which resulted in many heated argu- 
ments with his colonists. But, although Peter Stuyves- 

ant's rule was such a 
stormy one, he left the 
colony far better than he 
found it. New Amsterdam 
especially improved under 
his care. The town was 
given a charter and made 
into a city. And it was 
a pretty city, too. Along 
the streets stood the rows 
of quaint Dutch houses. 
Their gables were of col- 
ored brick and were turned 
toward the street ; weather- 
cocks decorated the roofs. 
Bright little gardens lay 
before many houses. And 
the gay-colored clothes of 
the people lent a cheerful 
appearance to the town. 
In the public square stood the stocks, whipping post, 
and pillory for the punishment of offenders. As Governor 
Stuyvesant was very fond of dealing out public punish- 
ment, all three were often occupied at once. Then there 
was the fort built by Peter Minuit and strengthened 
by Peter Stuyvesant. Scattered about were Dutch wind- 
mills wit'i their four long sweeping arms. And all to- 
gether New Amsterdam was a charming little city and 

130 




The Dutch and Neighboring 

Settlements. 



HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 

one of which the Dutch Governor might well be proud. 
But Peter Stuyvesant's pride in his colony was short- 
lived. 

England had long ago, owing to John Cabot's dis- 
coveries, claimed the land occupied by New Netherland. 
Moreover, the English King was determined to have all the 
English colonies along the Atlantic coast united, and this 
was impossible so long as the Dutch held New Netherland. 
So the English King gave the Dutch land to his brother 




James, the Duke of York, who sent a fleet to demand the 
surrender of the Dutch colony. 

Suddenly one day in 1664 this fleet appeared off New 
Amsterdam, and its commander sent a letter to Governor 
Stuyvesant. The letter invited him to give up his col- 
ony to the Duke of York. In return for the surrender, the 
colonists were to be allowed to keep their property and all 
their rights and privileges, and other privileges were to 
be granted them. 

"Old Silverleg" was very wrathful. He tore up the 
131 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

letter and stamped about on his wooden leg swearing that 
he would rather be carried out dead than give up the 
fort. He called upon the Dutch to help him, but they 




The Wrath of Stuyvesant. 



refused to come to his aid, as they were anxious to accept 
the liberal terms of the English. 

Poor "Headstrong Peter" could do nothing alone; 
and a white flag was raised in spite of him ; and the colony 

132 



HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 

.was given over to the English. This ended Dutch rule in 
America. 

The name New Netherland was changed to the Prov- 
ince of New York in honor of the English King's brother, 
the Duke of York. And for the same reason New Amster- 
dam became the city of New York. 

Sailing to Holland, Peter Stuyvesant reported the 
surrender to the Dutch West India Company. Then he 
returned to his home in New York and lived there as a 
peaceful citizen all the rest of his life. He died in 1682 
when he was eighty years old. 



Summary 

Henry Hudson, an English sailor, was employed by the Dutch 
East India Company to find a passage to Asia. — While on this 
voyage, he discovered the Hudson River, 1609. — This discovery 
led to Dutch colonization in America. — Dutch traders explored 
the valley of the Hudson and named it New Netherland. 

In 1623 the Dutch West India Company sent a colony to New 
Netherland, part of which settled on Manhattan Island. The 
settlement was named New Amsterdam. — In 1626, Governor 
Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians for 
twenty-four dollars. — The Dutch West India Company es- 
tablished the patroon system. 

Peter Stuyvesant was the last Dutch governor of New 
Netherland. In 1664 he was obliged to surrender the colony 
to the English. This ended Dutch rule in America. — The 
colony was renamed New York, and New Amsterdam became 
the city of New York. 



XIII 
THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 



CHAMPLAIN 

When Columbus discovered America, all the kings of 
Europe belonged to the Catholic Church and recognized 
the Pope as their ruler. So, when the kings of Spain and 
Portugal began to quarrel about lands outside their king- 
doms, it was the Pope who set- 
tled their dispute. He took a map 
and drew a line from the north to 
the south pole three hundred and 
seventy leagues west of the Cape 
Verde Islands. All the land west 
of this line not belonging to some 
Christian prince was to belong to 
Spain; all east of it, to Portugal. 
When the French King heard 
about this line he said, " I would 
like to see the clause in Father 
Adam's will which divides the 
world between the Portuguese 
and the Spaniards. I think France shall have a share too.'' 
And before long he began sending to America French 
ships to make discoveries and claims for France. 

The most important result of these early voyages was 
the discovery of the St. Lawrence River by Jacques Car- 
tier in 1535. But though Cartier's discovery led to the 

134 




Jacques Cartier. 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 



French claiming all the country drained by the mighty 
St. Lawrence, many years passed before they succeeded 
in making a permanent settlement in Canada. 

In the year 1603 two little French ships came sailing 
up the St. Lawrence. Upon the deck of one of them 
stood a young and fearless Frenchman, Samuel Cham- 
plain. Already he had served his country with honor 
both as a soldier and a sailor. And now he had crossed the 
sea again to visit 
Cartier's river 
and find out what 
New France 
promised. 

Past the high 
rock where Que- 
bec now stands, 
past the broad 
lake of St. Peter 
the ships sailed 
steadily on until 
before them rose 
the high moun- 
tain which Car- 
tier had named 
Montreal or 
Royal Mountain. Going ashore, the French spent the 
summer looking over the country near the river. When 
autumn came they returned to France. 

The next year the two ships came again. This time 
the voyagers were determined to make a settlement upon 
the shores of the New World. First they tried a rocky 
island in Passamaquoddy Bay. Then they moved to a 
place that they named Port Royal. They spent three 
winters in these two places. When spring came after the 

135 




Samuel, Champlain. 
At about the age of sixty-five. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

third winter, it brought bad news from France. The French 
King would no longer support the colony in America. 
With heavy hearts the colonists prepared to go home. 




Their Indian friends followed them to the water's edge 
and cried bitterly. 

For a year after this, Champlain stayed in France. 
He grew homesick for the foggy coasts of Canada, for the 

136 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 

sound of the sea and the smell of the pine woods. When 
King Henry decided to send another colony to America, 
there was no happier man in all France than Champlain. 

By the summer of 1608 a gang of choppers was at work 
where the city of Quebec is to-day. They were clearing 
a place for Champlain's new colony. When autumn came, 
one ship sailed for France. Champlain stayed behind 
with twenty-eight men. 

The winter proved a hard one. Disease swept through 
the colony. Only eight men were left by spring. Never 
was ship more welcome than the one that now arrived 
bearing friends and supplies from France. 



THE ATTACK ON THE IROQUOIS 

Champlain now decided that, while part of the men 
stayed at Quebec, he and the others would go to look for 
a water passage to China. The Europeans could not 
give up hope of finding such a passage. But what could 
this handful of men do among the thousands of warlike 
Indians scattered through the forests they must cross? 
Champlain thought over this for a long while. Finally he 
hit upon a scheme. 

The Iroquois were the fiercest and most powerful In- 
dians in America. They were a league of five nations, 
living in what is now the state of New York. The other 
Indians east of the Mississippi belonged to the Algonquins 
or to the Hurons. The Iroquois hated the Algonquins 
and the Hurons, and oftentimes these enemies started out 
to make savage war against each other. 

Champlain's plan was to join one of the Algonquin- 
Huron war parties. By doing this he would make the 
Algonquins and the Hurons firm friends of the French. 
Besides, the Algonquins had told Champlain of a great 

137 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

lake in the land of the Iroquois, and he was eager to see 
this lake. 

Champlain sent for some of the Algonquins he knew, 
and told them that he would help them against their 
enemies. They soon spread the news. A great band of 
warriors assembled at Quebec. 

It was almost July when the party started. Cham- 
plain and eleven other white men were in a small boat, 
each with gun and sword and armor. Around them were 
one hundred birch canoes full of Indians. 

Swish, swish went the water, as hundreds of paddles 
pushed up the river. Through a lake and between islands 
they went, till they came to the mouth of the Richelieu 
River which flows into the St. Lawrence. Making their 
way up this river they soon came to a place where the river 
was full of rocks. No boat could cross such rapids. So 
nine of the white men went back to Quebec with Cham- 
plain's boat, while he and the other two went on with 
the Indians in their canoes. 

After a time the river grew wider again, and at last 
they came to the great lake that the Indians had told 
Champlain about. He named it Lake Champlain. 

The travelers now had to proceed more carefully, for 
they were near the home of the Iroquois. All day they 
would hide quietly in the woods. At night they would 
launch their canoes and skim over the lake. On the night 
of July 29th, they saw dark objects on the lake in front 
of them. They were the canoes of the Iroquois. Each 
party saw the other, and the lake rang with war cries. 

The Iroquois did not like to fight on the water, so they 
landed and began to hack down trees for a barricade. 
Champlain and his party stayed on the lake and fastened 
their canoes together with poles. 

Before daylight Champlain and the two other white 
138 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 



men put on their armor. Over their shoulders they 
hung their ammunition boxes; they fastened their swords 
to their belts and took their guns in hand. The three 
Frenchmen were in separate canoes. When it grew light 
they kept hidden under Indian robes. The canoes were 
pulled up close to the shore, and the Algonquin-Huron 
party landed, the Frenchmen hiding behind the Indians. 




Drawn by Champlain. 

Champlain's Battle with the Iroquois. 

When two hundred of the straightest and fiercest of the 
Iroquois braves came marching toward them from their 
barricade, the Hurons and Algonquins began to feel anx- 
ious. So Champlain stepped out in front of them. The 
Iroquois stood thunderstruck. They had never seen a white 
man. He aimed his gun. Bang! A chief fell dead, and 
another rolled wounded into the bushes. Champlain's In- 
dians gave a terrible yell, and the woods were full of whiz- 
zing arrows. For a moment the Iroquois shot back. But 
from among their enemies came another gunshot, and 
another. 

139 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

They could stand it no longer. They broke rank and 
fled in terror through the bushes, like deer. Like hounds 
went the Hurons and Algonquins in hot pursuit. Some of 
the Iroquois were killed, many were taken prisoners. The 
rest ran away. Camp, canoes, provisions — all were left 
behind. The white man's gun had done its work. 

In after years the Iroquois were always the enemies of 
the French, and this was only the first of much fighting 
between them. 

As the years went by, Champlain pushed farther west 
from Quebec. He discovered Lake Huron. He planted 
the French people firmly in Canada. His settlement at 
Quebec became the center, not only of military operations, 
but also of a large fur trade. From there, the fur traders 
made their way into the Indian lands and bought furs for 
beads, purses, and trinkets of many sorts. 

On Christmas Day, 1635, one hundred years after Car- 
tier had discovered the site of Montreal, there was great 
sadness at Quebec. The French had lost their greatest 
explorer, and the Indians their best friend. Champlain 
was dead. 



JOLIET AND MARQUETTE— THE GREAT CANOE TRIP 

When Champlain died he left the power of the French 
firmly planted in Canada, which was fast becoming a fa- 
mous trading section for the fur traders. 

Besides the fur traders and those looking simply for 
adventure, there was another class of Frenchmen who 
came to Canada as the years went by. These were the 
hardest workers and bravest adventurers of all. They 
were the Jesuits, a society of French Roman Catholics 
who had sworn to do all they could to convert the world 
to the Catholic religion. Brave and fearless, they were 

140 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 

eager to go into the wilds of America and make the In- 
dians a great Catholic nation. Soon they pushed their 
way along the borders of the Great Lakes and established 
settlements, or missions, where they tried to teach and 
civilize the wayward red men. 

At one of these missions, on Lake Superior, was a 
young Jesuit priest, Marquette, or Father Marquette, as 
he was called. Every vear the Illinois Indians used to 




Marquette and Joliet Floating Down the Mississippi. 

come to the Jesuit settlement, and from them Father 
Marquette heard about a great river which they had to 
cross on their way. This river they called the "Mesipi." 
Father Marquette was very anxious to find this river, 
which he thought must flow into the Gulf of California. 

At this time the Governor of Canada was Count Fron- 

tenac. Through the Indians he, too, heard about the 

great river; and he resolved to send some one to find it 

and to explore it for France. For this expedition he 

11 141 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

selected a young man by the name of Louis Joliet and 
gave him orders to take Father Marquette on the voyage. 

In May, 1673, they started. They coasted along the 
shores of Lake Michigan until they came to the head of 
Green Bay. Here they entered the Fox River. After 
paddling for several days between fields of wild rice and 
prairies covered with deer and elk, they finally reached a 
place where the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers are only a mile 
and a half apart. They carried their canoes across this 
distance and launched them on the Wisconsin. Then they 
drifted down this peaceful river, until, on June 17th, they 
saw before them a mighty water which met the Wisconsin. 
This could be. no other than the "Father of Waters/' the 
Mississippi. 

Down the great river they paddled, past the mouth of 
the Illinois and past the wonderful rocks which at this 
point line the eastern shore. On one of the rocks were 
painted two monsters. These were Indian gods. The 
voyagers were so excited over the strange picture that 
they scarcely noticed where they were going. Suddenly 
they saw before them a great yellow torrent rushing into 
the peaceful blue water and sweeping along in its current, 
branches and uprooted trees. The canoes were whirled 
like chips upon the angry waters. They had reached the 
Missouri River. In spite of the danger, the travelers got 
safely past. 

In a few days more they came to the mouth of the river 
which the Indians called the Ohio, or "Beautiful River." 
After they had passed this, the weather grew warmer very 
rapidly, and the mosquitoes tormented them day and night. 

As Joliet and Marquette neared the mouth of the 
Arkansas River, they saw a group of wigwams on the 
western bank. The inhabitants stood waving their hatch- 
ets and yelling the war whoop. Boat loads of them came 

142 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 

out on both sides of the white men, so that they could go 
neither forward nor backward, while a swarm of daring- 
young braves waded out into the river. The white men 
were terribly frightened and called upon the saints to 
protect them, Marquette holding up his peace pipe all the 
while. The young warriors paid no attention to this; but 
when the older ones saw it, they quieted the young braves 
and told the Frenchmen to come on shore. This they 
did, and were treated kindly. 

Marquette and Joliet had now gone far enough to 




5§F^* 



From the bronze relief by H. A. McNeil, in the Marquette Building, Chicago. 
The Burial, of Marquette. 

make sure that the Mississippi flowed, not into the Gulf 
of California, but into the Gulf of Mexico. If they went 
on to the mouth of the river they might be killed by savage 
Indians, or by Spaniards. So they decided to go back 
to Canada and report what they had found. 

It was the end of September when they once more 
reached Green Bay. Leaving Marquette here, Joliet went 
on to tell Count Frontenac of all they had discovered. 
They had been gone four months, and had made a canoe 
trip of more than 2,500 miles. 

143 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

LA SALLE'S PLANS AND EARLY EXPLORATIONS 

When Joliet reached Montreal with the news of his 
great discovery, he met there a very brave and strong- 
minded man named La Salle. Hearing Joliet 's story, 
La Salle asked Count Frontenac to let him go to France 
to tell the King of all that he had heard.' 

Frontenac gladly gave his permission, and in the year 
1677 La Salle sailed for France. He told the King of the 
journey of Joliet and Marquette, of the fertile soil of the 
Mississippi Valley, of the abundant game and the delight- 
ful climate. 

"Now/' said La Salle, "why should not ail this rich 
land belong to France, instead of waiting for the English 
and Spanish to come and take it away from us before our 
very eyes?" 

The King was pleased with what La Salle said, and 
gave him permission to make a voyage of discovery 
which should last not more than five years. He was to 
build forts wherever he thought it necessary. 

In 1678 La Salle came back to Canada to prepare for 
his voyage through the west. He thought that, if he 
could start with a ship above the falls in the Niagara 
River, he would be able to sail up the river to the lakes, 
and then through the lakes to the Mississippi. He did 
not know that part of this distance lay overland. 

So with his men he sailed up the Niagara as far as 
the falls. Then with their baggage on their backs the 
men plodded twelve miles through the forest until they 
reached a creek above the falls. 

Here La Salle set the men to work building a ship. By 
August, 1679, the ship was finished, and named the Griffon. 

Then the voyagers left the Niagara River and sailed 
out into Lake Erie. Through Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, 

144 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 



Lake Huron they went, and westward into Lake Michigan. 
At the entrance of Green Bay La Salle cast anchor. 

Here he found some men whom he had sent ahead to 
buy furs of the Indians. He told these men to load the 
furs upon the Griffon and take them back to Niagara, 
where they would find men to carry them to Montreal. 
Then they were to come back again with the ship. So 
on a September morn- 
ing the Griffon fired a 
parting shot and set 
sail for Niagara. 

La Salle, with four- 
teen men and four 
canoes, went down the 
lake to the St. Joseph 
River. Here he built 
a fort and waited till 
December, hoping for 
the return of the Grif- 
fon; but no Griffon 
came. Finally he sent 
two men back to seek 
her while he with the 
others made his way 
up the St. Joseph 
River, until they came to the portage, or path, which led 
to the headwaters of the Illinois River. 

La Salle now went some distance down this river, and 
there built a strong fort. Since his ship was gone, he re- 
solved to build another. In six weeks the ship was half 
done. But there were no anchors or cables or rigging. 
There was nothing to be done but to go back for these 
things to Fort Frontenac, a distance of one thousand miles. 
La Salle was not a man to hesitate at a little journey like 

145 




Robert La Salle. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

this; so one day in March, with two canoes, an Indian 
hunter, and four Frenchmen, he started up the river. 

It was a fearful journey. Sometimes pushing the 
canoes through the drifting ice, sometimes walking over- 
land for many miles and carrying the canoes on their 
shoulders, sometimes in danger from the Iroquois, some- 




Bronze Sun-Dial and Compass. 
Found in January, 1902, on the shores of Green Bay. Undoubtedly of the sev- 
enteenth century, and probably lost by some French fur trader or missionary. 

times torn by brush and briers through which they made 
their way, the men kept bravely on until they reached the 
Niagara. By this time all but La Salle were worn out, so 
he left his companions at Niagara and took three fresh 
men in their stead. 

It was May when he saw before him the walls of Fort 
146 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 

Frontenac. Here he heard nothing but bad news. Not 
only was the Griffon lost, but a ship from France laden 
with La Salle's goods had been wrecked. Still the brave 
leader did not give up. He went to Montreal for the sup- 
plies he wanted and returned with them to Fort Frontenac. 

LA SALLE REACHES THE GULF OF MEXICO 

It would be a long story to tell of the adventures which 
befell La Salle before he again reached his fort on the Illi- 
nois River. He did reach it, however, the following win- 
ter. Here he found his men were gone and his fort pulled 
to pieces, but the ship was almost as he had left it. On 
one of the planks was written in French the words, " We 
are all savages." 

From the fort, La Salle and his companions pushed 
on down to the Mississippi, the great river which they 
never had seen before. Then turning his canoe, La Salle 
went back the way he had come. 

In December, 1681, La Salle started once more to ex- 
plore the Mississippi. With him were twenty-three French- 
men, besides about thirty Indians. They set out in their 
canoes from Fort Miami, on Lake Michigan, and entered 
the Chicago River. Finding it frozen, they made sledges 
and loaded the canoes and baggage on them. Then they 
crossed overland to the Illinois, and finally reached the 
Mississippi. At first the river was full of floating ice, but 
as they went farther south it became clear. 

They sailed on past the place where the mighty 
Missouri empties its muddy stream into the Father of 
Waters, and past the mouth of the Ohio. Winter gave 
way to spring, the air became soft and warm, and the 
banks were bright with the fresh green of the unfolding 
leaves. 

147 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Near the mouth of the Arkansas River La Salle raised 
a cross bearing the arms of France and took formal posses- 
sion of the country for the French King. Then he went 
on south. 

On the 6th of April La Salle found the river dividing 
into three streams. He separated his men into three par- 
ties, himself taking the western channel. As he drifted 
down the muddy stream, the salt smell of the sea reached 
him. The banks of the river disappeared. He had reached 
the Gulf of Mexico, his journey's end. 

The three parties soon met. They landed upon a piece 
of dry ground, a little way from the river's mouth. Here 
La Salle made a column, bearing the arms of France and 
these words, in French: "Louis the Great, King of France 
and of Navarre, rules here. April 9, 1682." 

The Frenchmen were drawn up in martial array and 
sang hymns. Then, amid volleys of musketry and shouts 
of " Long live the King! " La Salle set up the column. He 
proclaimed in a loud voice that he was taking for France 
all the land watered by the Mississippi, and the rivers 
which flow into the Mississippi. To this vast region li6 
gave the name of "Louisiana," or "Louis's land." It ex- 
tended from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains, and 
from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. 



LA SALLE'S ATTEMPTED SETTLEMENT 

In the year 1684 La Salle was in France for the last 
time. His purpose was to ask the King for one ship and 
two hundred men, that he might build a fort on the Mis- 
sissippi. He would form an army of fifteen thousand In- 
dians, he said, with which he could easily capture the 
Spanish silver mines. The King granted this request 
most generously. Instead of one ship he gave four, 

148 



THE EARLY FRENCH EXPLORERS 

and recruiting agents were sent out to enlist the soldiers 
asked for. 

La Salle's plan was to reach the mouth of the Mississippi 
River by crossing the Gulf of Mexico. 

It was December before the little fleet entered the 
Gulf. On New Year's Day, 1685, they anchored about 
nine miles from the land. La Salle went ashore, but could 
find nothing that looked familiar. He had passed the 
mouth of the Mississippi without knowing it, and his great 
journey had been taken in vain. 

Finally he entered Matagorda Bay on the coast of 
Texas, which he thought was the western mouth of the 
Mississippi. After building some houses for his little col- 
ony, La Salle started northward with about fifty of his 
men. They were gone five months and returned ragged 
and wearied, all but La Salle discouraged. 

La Salle's fortunes were now in a very sad state. 
Many of the colony had died of disease, and La Salle him- 
self was much broken in health. He resolved that he 
would find the Mississippi, journey to Canada, and get 
supplies for his colony. This was his last hope. 

Everyone set to work to prepare for the journey. The 
sails of the vessels were cut up and pieced with deerskins 
to make coats for the men. On the 7th of January, 1687, 
La Salle made a farewell address to those who were to 
stay behind and with his men left the fort for the last time. 

Across prairies and rivers they journeyed. In March 
they were still on the plains of northern Texas. One day 
the men fell into a quarrel about some buffalo meat. 
Three were killed, among them La Salle's nephew. La 
Salle, who knew nothing of this, asked one of the party 
where his nephew was. "He is skulking about some- 
where," answered the man impudently. 

La Salle rebuked him for his manner of speaking, when 
149 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

a shot whizzed from the grass, and the great leader fell 
dead. He had escaped the fury of flood and Indians, to 
die at the hands of one of his own countrymen; and the 
helpless colony in Texas was left to the mercy of the 
Spaniards. 

Summary 

In 1535 Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, discovered the 
St. Lawrence River. — In consequence France claimed all the 
country drained by the St. Lawrence, calling it New France. — 
Samuel Champlain explored the river, 1603, and, by the settle- 
ment of Quebec, 1608, established the French in Canada. — In 
1609, Champlain joined the Algonquin and Huron tribes in an 
attack on the Iroquois. This brought about the lasting enmity 
of the Iroquois toward the French. 

In 1673 Joliet and Marquette explored the Mississippi River 
to the mouth of the Arkansas. 

In 1678 La Salle was commissioned by Louis XIV to es- 
tablish the French claim to the valley of the Mississippi. — In 
1682 he reached the Gulf of Mexico. — He named the French 
claim Louisiana. This claim included all the land drained by the 
Mississippi and its tributaries. 



XIV 
LORD BALTIMORE 

MARYLAND 

Besides the faith of Pilgrims and Puritans there was 
yet another creed in England — that of the Roman Cath- 
olics. Like the Puritans, the Catholics were not allowed 



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to live in peace and worship God according to their con- 
science. So they, too, wanted to move to America and 
start life anew. 

George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, felt that the Cath- 
olics were right in their desire ; and he resolved to become 

151 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



their leader and help them all he could toward estab- 
lishing their new colony. The English King granted Lord 
Baltimore plenty of land in -Newfoundland; and there, in 
1623, he sent his colonists. 

Newfoundland was not what they had expected, how- 
ever. The hard winters lasted from the middle of Octo- 
ber to the middle of 
May; and the land 
and the water were 
so frozen up all those 
months that proper 
food was out of the 
question. 

So Lord Baltimore 
went back to England 
and petitioned Charles 
I to grant him a strip 
of land north of the 
Potomac River, which 
was not inhabited by 
English. King Charles 
consented, and the 
most liberal charter 
ever given by an Eng- 
lish sovereign was 
drawn up. But be- 
fore it was completed, Lord Baltimore died. 

Fortunately Lord Baltimore had a son who was as 
eager as his father to find a home for his Catholic friends. 
And it was this son, the second Lord Baltimore, who 
founded and guided the new English colony during its 
first years in its new lands. 

The old Lord Baltimore's charter was given tc the 
second Lord Baltimore, Cecil Calvert. Leonard Calvert, 

152 




From an old print. 

Cecil Calvert. 



LORD BALTIMORE 



the second son, was appointed governor of the new colony ; 
and in November, 1633, he sailed with about three hun- 
dred people for America. 

Early in 1634 the colonists entered Chesapeake Bay 




Governor Calvert Bartering for Land on Chesapeake Bay. 

and sailed to the mouth of the Potomac. On the northern 
bank of the Potomac not far from its mouth lay an 
Indian village. The settlers were charmed with the spot 
and were very anxious to make their home there. Gov- 

153 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

ernor Calvert therefore bought the village from the 
Indians, giving for it some hatchets, hoes, and cloth; and 
the English landed as rightful possessors. 

The new colony received the name of Maryland in 
honor of Henrietta Maria, the English Queen. And the 
ready-made town was called St. Mary's. 

Unlike the Puritans and the Virginians, the Mary- 
land settlers did not have to till an uncultivated ground. 
The Indians from whom they had bought the land had 
enriched the soil, laid out fields, and planted corn and 
other grains. The great forests, too, were full of game; 
and the best of fish were to be had for the catching. Good 
fortune smiled on the newcomers. 

Such a prosperous beginning promised much for the 
future. New settlers soon followed on the heels of the 
first arrivals, and the little town of St. Mary's was quickly 
surrounded by tidy, well-kept farms. 

There were many things to draw settlers to Maryland. 
But perhaps the greatest attraction was that the new col- 
ony offered a home to any Christian whether Catholic or 
Protestant. Although founded as a refuge for Catholics, 
Lord Baltimore did not want his colony to close its doors 
on anyone who was suffering for religious views. AH were 
welcomed to Maryland. 

At first it seemed as if this good man's best hopes for 
his colony might be fulfilled. But when the Virginia col- 
onists heard that Charles had granted Lord Baltimore the 
tract of land known as Maryland, they remonstrated and 
petitioned him to retract his grant. And when the King re- 
fused to listen to them they took things into their own hands. 

They regarded the Catholics with an evil eye and de- 
termined to create trouble for them. Chief among the 
mischief makers was a man by the name of William Clay- 
borne, a member of the Jamestown council. 

154 



LORD BALTIMORE 

Before the Maryland settlers came to America, Clay- 
borne had established a fur-trading settlement on the 
Island of Kent. 

The Island of Kent was included in the land granted 
to Lord Baltimore, and one of Governor Calvert's first 
acts on reaching America was to see Clayborne. Treating 
him with all tenderness, the new governor still impressed 
it upon the fur trader that the Island of Kent belonged to 
Maryland, and to Maryland alone. He might colonize it 
and welcome, but he must not forget that he was settling 
on Lord Baltimore's land. 

Clayborne laid the matter before the Virginia council. 
They said that Governor Calvert was all wrong, and that 
the Island of Kent belonged to Virginia, and from this 
beginning trouble grew and grew. Battles were fought, 
blood was shed, and year after year bitter feeling was rife. 

In 1649 King Charles I was beheaded. A new govern- 
ment was set up. And in 1652 this new government sent 
a body of commissioners to inspect "the colonies within 
the Bay of Chesapeake." One of the commissioners was 
Clayborne. Here was his chance for a last word. The 
Governor of Maryland was removed from office, a new 
governor was elected, and Lord Baltimore was declared 
to have no right in the colony. 

. You can imagine with what grief Lord Baltimore saw 
all this strife going on. He had tried all these years to 
have his colonists keep peace with the Indians and their 
English neighbors, and had endeavored to found a set- 
tlement broad in views and generous in religious beliefs. 
Was all this noble effort to be destroyed by a few men 
who did not seem to have any conscience at all? About 
four years later Maryland was restored to Lord Baltimore; 
and the colony, its troubles over, once more grew and 
prospered. 

155 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

When Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, died, his eldest 
son succeeded him as proprietor of Maryland. 

During the years Lord Baltimore had controlled Mary- 
land, the colonists had learned to love and respect him. 
He had been a kind father to his people and had done ev- 
erything possible for their welfare. On his death the col- 
onists sincerely mourned him and never forgot his many 
good qualities and unselfish acts. 

m 

Summary 

Maryland was settled by English Roman Catholics, under 
Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, in 1634. — The colony's charter 
was the most liberal ever granted by England. Maryland 
became a refuge open to all religions. — The settlers purchased an 
Indian village on the Potomac, which they called St. Mary's. 



XV 

WILLIAM PENN 

THE QUAKERS 

While everyone in England was quarreling about the 
right way to worship God, a weaver's son, tending his mas- 
ter's sheep and reading his Bible, found what he thought 
was the true way. Through his study of the Bible, and 
through prayer, he came to believe that God had sent His 
Son into the world that men might learn to live at peace 
and to love one another. 

This man was George Fox, the founder of the Society 
of Friends, or Quakers, as they came to be called. He 
went about preaching; and everywhere many people be- 
lieved in what he said and joined the Society, although 
they were again and again thrown into prison for believ- 
ing and preaching this strange new religion of peace and 
brotherhood. 

The Quakers had many beliefs and customs that 
seemed strange and wrong to the people of other churches. 
They believed that all men were equal in the sight of 
God, and so they would not take off their hats to show 
honor to any. man, not even the King. 

They addressed everyone as " thee " and " thou," because 
the pronoun " you " was then used to express respect to a 
superior. They said that if " thee " and " thou " were good 
enough for God, they were surely good enough for men. 
12 157 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



They thought that no man should take pay for preach- 
ing the Gospel, and so they refused to pay taxes to support 
the English Church. They believed that the teachings of 
the Bible should be obeyed; and as the Good Book says, 
"Swear not at all," they would not even take the oath 
of allegiance to the King. And since the Bible says, 

"Blessed are the peace- 
makers/' they would not 
quarrel with anyone, or 
seek revenge, or bear arms, 
even in defense of their 
own country. 

Yet they were a brave 
people. They would go 
anywhere and speak what 
they believed to be true 
and right, though they 
knew that they would be 
cast into prison for it. 

The Quakers approved 
of dressing very plainly. 
"If people think too 
much of their clothes," 
they said, "they will be- 
come proud and envious." 
In the year 1660 there was at the University of Ox- 
ford a strong, handsome young man by the name of 
William Penn. One day a Quaker preacher came to Ox- 
ford. Penn and many of the other students heard him 
and were convinced that he spoke the truth. From this 
time on, Penn refused to wear the student's gown, be- 
cause, he said, it showed pride. He and some of the other- 
students began to hold Quaker meetings. For this they 
were expelled from the University. 

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WILLIAM PENN 

William Penn's father was an admiral in the British 
navy and did not believe in the peaceful ways of the Quak- 
ers. When his son came home Admiral Penn was very 
angry. He tried to make William say that he would no 
longer be a Quaker. But William would not yield. His 
father even whipped him, but it did no good. Finally he 
was turned out of doors. 

Fortunately Mrs. Penn helped her son with money, so 
that he did not suffer. The King and the Duke of York, 
too, were always friendly to him for his father's sake. 

Once when William went to see King Charles, the 
King took off his hat. 

"Friend Charles," said Penn, "why dost thou remove 
thy hat?" 

"Because," said the King, "where I am, it is the 
custom for only one to remain covered." 

William Penn was put in prison many times for writing 
about and preaching the Quaker religion. 

Penn's father soon saw that his son was determined 
to remain a Quaker, and a very true one. So once more 
he permitted him to come home and never again inter- 
fered with his religious belief. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA 

The Quakers, persecuted everywhere, looked long- 
ingly toward America as a place where they might live 
in peace and do God's will as they saw it. 

Now King Charles owed William Penn's father a debt 
of sixteen thousand pounds. As the King knew how 
to make debts a great deal better than how to pay them, 
the debt was still unpaid when Admiral Penn died. 

In 1680 William Penn went to the King and asked him 
for a tract of land in America. The idea pleased Charles 

159 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



very much. It was far easier to give away a piece of 
woodland which he had never seen and knew nothing 
about than it would have been to raise the money to pay 
the debt. So in 1681 he gave Penn a charter, granting 

him a tract of land 




north of Maryland and 
bounded on the east 
by the Delaware River. 
Penn called his 
province "Sylvania/' 
which is a Latin name 
meaning "wood- 
land/' The King added 
"Penn" to this name, 
making it "Penn- 
sylvania." William did 
not approve of this, for 
he thought that it 
looked like vanity, but 
Charles laughed and 
said, "We are not nam- 
ing the province 
to honor you, but to 
honor the Admiral, your 
noble father." So Penn 
had to be content. 
Before long, Penn had sent to his province twenty ships 
with about three thousand people, most of them Quakers. 
In 1682 he came himself, and sailed up the Delaware River 
until he came to Chester, where some of his settlers had 
already built their homes. Here he called an assembly 
of the people to make the laws for their colony. 

After these laws were made Penn set out to select a site 
for the city which he had planned before sailing from 

160 



The First Settlements of Penn- 
sylvania and New Jersey. 



WILLIAM PENN 

England. He chose a neck of land between the Schuylkill 
and Delaware Rivers. Here he laid out Philadelphia. 
"Philadelphia" is a Greek word, which means " brotherly- 
love "; and Penn meant that brotherly love should rule 
his city. 

The city was laid out like a checkerboard, with broad 
streets and large lots. Each house was to be built in the 
center of a lot, so that there might be large and beautiful 









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From a painting by Benjamin West- 

Penn Making the Treaty with the Indians. 

lawns and also as little danger from fire as possible. The 
streets were named after different kinds of trees. 

Penn called a meeting of the Indians. They came 
armed and painted, but Penn and his friends were un- 
armed and plainly dressed, with the exception that Penn 
wore a sky-blue sash. He told the Indians that the Quak- 
ers had come to be their friends, and that they never 
carried arms. 

Then he read a treaty of peace for the Indians and the 
Quakers, which the Indians gladly agreed to. The white 

161 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



men were to buy all land of the Indians, not to take it by 
force. If there was a dispute between white men and In- 
dians, it was to be settled by a council of six white men 
and six Indians. 

After the treaty was agreed to, Penn gave the Indians 
some presents and then walked with them, sat on the 
ground with them, and ate with them roasted acorns 
and hominy. The Indians were very much pleased with 
this and began to hop and jump to show their delight. 

Thereupon Penn sprang to 
his feet and outdanced 
them all. 

The Indians kept the 
treaty for many years, liv- 
ing in peace and friendship 
with the Quakers. But 
William Penn did not have 
much opportunity to en- 
joy his colony. In 1684 
he received word that the 
Quakers in England were 
again being cruelly persecuted. So he sailed for Eng- 
land, hoping soon to be able to return to Pennsylvania. 
However, it was fifteen years before Penn once more sailed 
for America, years full of deepest sorrow. His enemies 
in England had made a great deal of trouble for him; 
and, saddest of all, death had robbed him of his noble wife 
and several of his children. When he did return to Penn- 
sylvania in 1699, he found Philadelphia a city of seven 
hundred houses and four thousand people. 

Penn stayed in America for two years, part of the time 
living in Philadelphia, and part of the time in a beautiful 
country home. Sometimes he would ride to and from the 
city on horseback, and sometimes he would sail on the 

162 




Treaty Belt Given to Penn 
by the Indians. 



WILLIAM PENN 

Delaware in a little six-oared boat. One day the Govern- 
or of New Jersey met him in his boat, struggling against 
wind and tide. 

"I am surprised/' said the Governor, "that you ven- 
ture out against such a wind and tide." 

"I have been struggling against wind and tide all my 
life," replied Penn. 

In 1701 his business called him back to England, and 
he never had an opportunity to return to America. But 
the colony planted in brotherly love lived and prospered. 
To-day Pennsylvania is one of the greatest states of the 
Union, and Philadelphia is one of the most beautiful cities. 

Summary 

In 1681, land in America was granted to William Penn, an 
English Quaker, to found a refuge for persecuted Quakers. — The 
grant was named Pennsylvania. — In 1682, Penn founded Phila- 
delphia. — He made a treaty with the Indians, which insured 
justice and peace. 



XVI 

GENERAL JAMES OGLETHORPE 

GEORGIA 

Here in America today debt often brings discredit, 
dishonor, suffering. Then picture what it must have 
meant in England in the eighteenth century, when to owe 
money was held a serious crime. The English laws were 
very strict. Let a man owe even a very small amount, 
and absolute ruin stared him in the face. No matter if 
his poverty came from sickness or misfortune. No matter 
if he had a large family to care for. If he could not pay his 
bills, an officer appeared and dragged him off to prison. 
There he could not earn a cent to pay his debt, and yet 
there he must stay. If his friends brought him food and 
comforts, all well and goo.d; otherwise he might starve. 
His great hope of freedom was that his creditor would 
withdraw his claim, and this was often a very slight hope. 

Now, the debtors' prisons were often visited by an 
English general, James Oglethorpe. He was of a kind 
and sympathetic nature, and it seemed to him a dreadful 
thing — this imprisonment for debt. Was there no way 
to help these poor people in their misery? 

While he was pondering as to what he could do, an 
opportunity came. Some years before, the English had 
planted to the south of Virginia a colony called Carolina. 
In 1712 this province was divided into two separate 
colonies; one North Carolina, the other South Carolina. 
The English colony of South Carolina lay exposed to 
attacks from the Spaniards in Florida. The South Caro- 
lina settlers needed protection on the south. Here was 

164 



GENERAL JAMES OGLETHORPE 

Oglethorpe's chance. Why could not the most deserving 
of the poor imprisoned debtors be taken to America? 
And why could they not be settled in a colony which 
would serve as a military outpost against the Spaniards? 

General Ogle- 
thorpe laid his 
scheme before the 
English King and 
the English Gov- 
ernment. Both 
heartily approved. 
The land lying be- 
tween the Savan- 
nah and the Alta- 
maha rivers was 
granted to the new 
colony, named 
Georgia in honor 
of King George II, 
and General Ogle- 
thorpe was ap- 
pointed governor. 

In January, 
1733,General Ogle- 

,i -,i i • James Oglethorpe. 

tnorpe, with his re- 
leased debtors and their families, entered the Savannah 
River. The settlers bought from the Indians the land 
along the southern bank of the river, laid out a town, and 
named it Savannah. True to his promise to make his 
colony a military outpost against the Spaniards, Governor 
Oglethorpe built forts and insisted on military drills. And 
before many years he had a chance to prove that his colony 
made a valuable protection for South Carolina. 

For ten years Governor Oglethorpe devoted himself 
165 




A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

to his colony. In 1743 he bade adieu to his sorrowing 
friends, both the settlers and the Indians, and left for 
his English home. Here he lived to a good old age, hon- 
ored and loved by his countrymen as much as by the un- 
fortunate debtors whom he had treated so kindly. 

We have learned something of the founding of Virginia, 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, North 
and South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Besides these 
eight, there were four other colonies in America when 
General Oglethorpe brought his settlers to Georgia. Out 
of Massachusetts the New England colonists had gone 
north and southwest, and, with other colonists from 
England, had laid the beginnings of New Hampshire and 
Connecticut. After the Duke of York had seized New 
Netherland from the Dutch, he gave the name of New 
Jersey to that part of it which lay east of the Delaware 
River; and this became a separate colony. Sweden, too, 
had sent out colonists who settled on the west bank of the 
Delaware River, near its mouth. This latter colony be- 
came later the state of Delaware. 

And so it is that history speaks of Georgia as "the 
last of the thirteen colonies" which afterward joined in 
a mighty effort, threw off the yoke of England, and 
formed themselves into the United States of America. 

Summary 

James Oglethorpe, an English general, received a grant of 
the land between South Carolina and Florida. — Here, in 1733, 
he founded the colony of Georgia, as a refuge for debtors and a 
military outpost against the Spaniards. — The first settlement 
was Savannah. — Georgia was the last of the thirteen colonies. — 
New Hampshire and Connecticut had been opened up by colo- 
nists from Massachusetts. — Land east of the Delaware River 
had been separated from New York and called New Jersey. — 
Delaware had been settled by Swedes. 

166 



XVII 
NATHANIEL BACON 

In the year 1660 Sir William Berkeley was proclaimed 
Governor of Virginia. He was not a good governor. He 
was selfish and put his own good ahead of that of the col- 
ony: he liked to take his comfort undisturbed, and he was 
very set in his ways. This was hard for the colonists. 
But worse was to come. From time to time the Indians 
had caused the Virginians more or less trouble. At last 
they saw that the English were quarreling among them- 
selves over taxes and such matters. Here was a fine 
opportunity for the savages. 

They began plundering and killing the settlers and 
laying waste their homes. Before many months, they 
had killed large numbers of the colonists. 

The raising of tobacco had had its effect on the colo- 
nial way of living. Large fields and many of them were 
needed, if large crops of tobacco were to be raised. The 
bigger the crops, the bigger the owner's returns. So in- 
stead of living in cozy little villages, the Virginia colo- 
nists laid out large farms or plantations, one beyond an- 
other, and thus spread their colony over a great territory. 
One's next-door neighbor lived a long way off, and it took 
some time to ride from home to home. This living far 
apart made it hard to guard against Indian attacks. 
While a plantation owner was trying to get help, his 
whole family might be killed. 

The people again and again begged Governor Berkeley 
167 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

to help them, but he refused. "Very well, then, we will 
help ourselves/' said Nathaniel Bacon. 

This Nathaniel Bacon was a wealthy young planter 
who had lately brought his young wife to live in Virginia. 
He was tall, energetic, and commanding. He owned a 
plantation near where the city of Richmond now stands. 
One day in May, 1676, word was brought him that the 
Indians had attacked his plantation and killed the over- 
seer and a servant. This was the last straw. 

Bacon promptly called upon his neighbors to meet 
him. When they came, he reminded them that the Gov- 
ernor had failed to take any steps to avenge the lives of the 
slain colonists; that he was acting not for their good but for 
his own; and that something must be done at once to pro- 
tect the Virginians from their deadly foes. He, Nathaniel 
Bacon, was ready to take matters into his own hands, he 
said. Were his neighbors not ready to do the same? If 
so, he begged them to choose a leader and to prepare to 
march against the warriors. 

With a shout the colonists declared that Bacon was 
right. They would certainly have revenge for the death 
of their friends, and Bacon should lead them. 

As a final effort at keeping terms with Governor Berke- 
ley, Bacon sent to ask him for a commission. The Gov- 
ernor refused. 

Then he would march without a commission. . So the 
little army set out with Nathaniel Bacon at its head and 
marched up the James River. Finding the Indians in the 
forests, the colonists fell upon them and utterly routed 
them. This done they turned toward home. 

While Bacon and his followers were fighting the In- 
dians, Governor Berkeley was raging in Jamestown. Na- 
thaniel Bacon was a. rebel, he declared, and so were all the 
men in his party. Had they not marched contrary to his 

168 



NATHANIEL BACON 

orders? Such men should be punished. For this purpose 
the Governor called out a body of troops and made ready 
to attack the rebels. He found, however, that Bacon had 
the sympathy of the colony back of him. So, fearing a 




Bacon Confronting the Governor in the Square. 



general uprising, Sir William disbanded his troops and 
meekly gave in. 

Now a new assembly was chosen, and Nathaniel Bacon 
was elected one of its members. When he arrived in 
Jamestown, he was seized and taken before the Governor, 
who was still very angry with him. A stormy interview 

169 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

followed. At last Bacon said that if the Governor would 
now give him a commission to fight the Indians, he would 
publicly admit that he had acted illegally in marching 
without one in the first place. It was agreed. Bacon 
admitted his faults. But the Governor still failed to 
give him the coveted commission. 

It was now Bacon's turn to be angry. He determined 
that he would have that commission. He left Jamestown, 
went home, and collected another army of planters. With 
this army he marched back to Jamestown, drew up his 
forces in the public square, and sent word to Governor 
Berkeley that he was waiting for his commission. 

Trembling with fury the Governor rushed out of the 
Statehouse and into the square, where he faced the men. 
There he threw back the ruffles of his shirt, bared his 
breast, and shouted, "Here I am! Shoot me! Tore God 
a fair mark, a fair mark — shoot!" 

"No/' Bacon calmly answered. "May it please your 
Honor, we have not come to hurt a hair of your head or of 
any man's. We have come for a commission to save our 
lives from the Indians, which you have so often promised ; 
and now we will have it before we go." And Nathaniel 
Bacon was given his commission. 

Once more he advanced on the warring tribes. By 
fall, these tribes were completely crushed, and the dreaded 
attacks on the plantations came to an end. 

But Bacon did not have smooth sailing all this time. 
The Governor had again proclaimed Bacon and his fol- 
lowers rebels and had raised an army to defeat them. 
Bacon was not to be put down. He was doing his duty. 
So he led his men against Governor Berkeley and his army. 

On the march to Jamestown, Bacon stopped at the 
homes of those planters who had sided with the Governor, 
and carried their wives with him as hostages. 

170 



NATHANIEL BACON 

At Jamestown he found the Governor's troops ready 
for him. Placing the women in front of his own men he 
ordered an intrenchment dug and breastworks thrown up. 
While this was being done the Governor's guns did not fire 
a single shot for fear of killing the women. 

The next day, however, there was a battle in James- 
town; and Bacon came off victor. The Governor fled 




From a photograph. 

The Ruins of Jamestown. 



from the town, boarded a ship, and sailed down the 
river. 

With Jamestown once in his hands and the Governor 
gone, it would seem as if Bacon should have been satis- 
fied; but he was not. He realized that even though he 
remained conqueror in Virginia, the King might send 
war ships and soldiers from England, and a great many 
unpleasant things might happen. So he decided first of 
all to burn the city of Jamestown. 

It was on the 19th of September, 1676, that they set 
171 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

fire to the city; and in a few hours the whole town was 
reduced to ashes. Undoubtedly many a man and woman 
wept when they saw their homes eaten up by the flames. 
But they made no effort to prevent Bacon from doing "as 
he thought right. 

However, the "Bacon Rebellion/' as it was called, 
was not to last much longer. The very next month 
after the burning of Jamestown, came the death from 
fever of the daring young Nathaniel Bacon. And with 
no leader, his army disbanded and went home. Then 
Governor Berkeley came back to Virginia ready for 
revenge, and he had it. More than twenty of the rebels 
were executed, and many more would have died had not 
the council decided that blood enough had been shed. 

When King Charles II in England heard of Governor 
Berkeley's deeds of revenge, he said, "The old fool has 
taken away more lives in that naked country than I did 
for the murder of my father." 

Summary 

Nathaniel Bacon of Virginia was the first colonist to take 
arms against the Government in order to obtain better govern- 
ment for the colonists. — The uprising is known as "Bacon's Re- 
bellion." — It was directed against Governor Berkeley, who failed 
to protect the colony from Indian attack. — In 1676, Bacon 
defeated the Governor and burned Jamestown. 



XVIII 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 
BOYHOOD 

In the early part of the eighteenth century, when Bos- 
ton was a little town of less than ten thousand inhabitants, 
there lived just opposite the Old South Meeting House a 
good soap boiler and candle maker, named Josiah Franklin. 
He had seven daugh- ^ 

ters and ten sons. And 
this story is about the 
youngest of his sons, 
Benjamin, who was 
born in Boston, Jan- 
uary 6, 1706. 

With so many 
mouths to feed, Josiah 
Franklin could not af- 
ford to keep any one 
of his children long 
in school. However, 
Benjamin learned to 
read when he was very 

young, and at the age of eight he was sent to the Latin 
Grammar School. The next year he went to a school 
where arithmetic and writing were taught. These two 
years were all that he spent in school. 

In olden times boys began quite early to learn some 
13 173 




ji: I«P B= — _ rrr 411 iff 
*- , tan F-- -— irrr 




The Birthplace of Franklin. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

trade. The natural thing for a boy to do was to learn 
his father's trade. So for two years after leaving school 
Benjamin worked for his father, cutting wicks, molding 
candles, tending shop, and running errands. 

But his great liking for the few books at his com- 
mand persuaded his father to make a printer of him. 
Benjamin's brother James was a printer; and when the 
lad was twelve years old, he was apprenticed to this elder 
brother. In return for his board and clothes, and for 
being taught the printer's trade, Benjamin was to work 
for his brother until he was twenty-one. 

Once in the printing house, Benjamin had better op- 
portunities for reading. Often the booksellers would lend 
him books, which he would sit up all night to read that 
they might be returned in the morning. 

Inspired by his reading he began to practice writing. 
All day long he worked hard at his trade; but in the early 
mornings, in the evenings, and on Sundays, he would read 
and write to his heart's content. 

Two years after Benjamin went to work for his broth- 
er, James began to print a newspaper which he called the 
New England Courant. Benjamin was very anxious to 
write something for this paper, but he was sure that James 
would not print anything if he knew that it had been 
written by his little brother. So one night Benjamin 
slipped under the door of the printing house a little story 
that he had written. James Franklin found it and showed 
it to some of his friends. All agreed that it had been 
written by some very clever man. This delighted the 
young writer, and he kept up his secret writings for some 
time, enjoying the joke on James immensely. 

Things would have gone very well had not James 
Franklin proved a harsh master to his young brother, 
often beating him. 

174 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

Finally Benjamin could bear it no longer and left the 
printing house. This made James very angry. He went 
around to all the other printers in Boston and told them 
not to give Benjamin any work. Surely this was a sorry 
plight for the young printer. 

EARLY LIFE IN PHILADELPHIA 

Unable to get work in Boston, young Franklin decided 
to slip away on a packet boat which was going to New 
York. This meant a sea journey of three hundred miles 
and was quite an undertaking in those days. In Octo- 
ber, 1723, he reached New York, a lad of seventeen, an 
entire stranger in the city, with very little money in his 
pocket. 

He went to William Bradford, the only printer in New 
York. Mr. Bradford had no work for him, but advised 
Benjamin to go to Philadelphia, a hundred miles farther 
south. Franklin set out and a few mornings after was wan- 
dering alone up one of the streets of the Quaker city. 

The first thing he did was to find out where he could 
get some breakfast. A boy directed him to a bake- 
shop. It seems that bread must have cost more in Boston 
than in Philadelphia; for when Franklin asked for a mod- 
est threepenny worth, to his surprise he was handed out 
three great puffy loaves. They were much too large to 
put into his pockets, so he tucked one under each arm 
and, eating the third, went on up the street. 

As luck would have it, he sauntered thus by the house 
of a certain Mr. Read, just as little Miss Read was stand- 
ing in the doorway. And this young lady, little dreaming 
that she was looking at her future husband, could not keep 
from laughing at the poor awkward young stranger. 

After finding a lodging house and being refreshed by 
175 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



a good night's rest, Franklin went to see a printer by the 
name of Keimer; and here he was given work. 

One day when Franklin and Keimer were at work 
they saw two finely dressed gentlemen coming to the door. 
Keimer thought of course that the distinguished visitors 
were for him. He was very much surprised when one of 
them said that he was the Governor of Pennsylvania 

and wanted to 
see Benjamin 
Franklin. 

The Governor 
told Benjamin 
that there was 
great need of a 
good printer in 
the colonies, and 
that if he would 
set up in business 
for himself he 
should have all 
the public print- 
ing of Penn- 
sylvania. This was 
indeed an honor. 
Furthermore 

the Governor offered to send Franklin to London that he 
might choose for himself those things necessary for his 
start as an independent printer. Of course Franklin was 
delighted, and when the yearly ship sailed from Phila- 
delphia to London he was one of its passengers. He was 
to find letters of credit from the Governor waiting for 
him on his ship, but for some unaccountable reason the 
Governor failed to send them. This fact Franklin did not 
discover until the ship had almost reached England. And 

176 




From an old print. 

Franklin's Arrival in Philadelphia. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



soon he was alone in London, the greatest city in the 
world, without money or friends. 

However, Benjamin Franklin was not to be easily 
discouraged. He soon found employment in a printing 
house and went to work with a will. 

After a while he returned to Philadelphia, and went 
to work for his old employer, Keimer. Through his 
good sense and thrifty habits, he was soon able to set 
up in business for himself. 

At this time there was only one newspaper in Penn- 
sylvania, and that was 
a very poor one. In 
1729, when Franklin 
was twenty-three 
years old, he con- 
cluded that he would 
print a newspaper and 
make it the best in 
America. 

He set vigorously 
to work. In a little 
while everyone wanted 
the Pennsylvania Gazette, for that was the name of the 
paper. It always had the best and latest news, although, 
as there were no railroads or telegraphs or telephones, this 
was not always very new. When there was not news 
enough to fill the paper, Franklin would write funny arti- 
cles, which surprised and pleased the quiet old Quaker 
town. 

Once Franklin published an article in his paper which 
some of the rich men of Philadelphia did not like. Hear- 
ing of their complaint Franklin invited the dissatisfied 
gentlemen to take supper with him. When they sat down 
at the table, they saw before them only two puddings 

177 




Franklin and his Printing Press. 



A FIKST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



made of corn meal, and a stone jug of water. Franklin 
politely helped his guests and then, filling his own plate, 
ate heartily. The guests tried to eat, but they were not 
used to such fare. At last Franklin rose and said, "My 

friends, anyone who can 
live on sawdust pud- 
ding and water, as I can, 
needs no man's pa- 



Poor Richard, 1733. 



A N 



Almanack 

FortheYearofChrift 



7 



S3 



When Franklin was 
twenty-four he married 
Deborah Read, the girl 
who laughed at him the 
first morning he came to 
Philadelphia. Mrs. 
Franklin was a true help- 
mate to her husband. 
He says, "She assisted 
me cheerfully in my 
business, folding and 
stitching pamphlets, 
tending shop, purchas- 
ing old linen rags for the 
paper-makers/ 7 etc. 

In those days every- 
one read the almanac 
very carefully. No mat- 
ter how few books peo- 
ple had, they were sure 
to buy an almanac every 
year. In 1732, the very year that George Washington 
was born, Benjamin Franklin made up his mind to publish 
an almanac. It was to contain not only all the useful in- 
formation usually found in almanacs, but also a great deal 

178 



Being the Firft after LEAP YEAR? 

Jnd makes [n.ce the Creation Years 

By the Account of the Eaftern Greeks 7241 

By the Latin Church, when O em. f 6912 
By Hie Computation of IV. IV J742 

By the Roman Chronology 5<J82 

By the Jev/ifi Rabbies ^^. 

Wherein is contained 
The Lunations, Eclipfes, Judgment of 
the Weather, Spring Tides, Planets Motions & 
mutual Afpc&s, Sun and Moon's Rifing and Set- 
ting, Length of Days, Time of High Water, 
Fairs, Courts, and obfcrvable Days 
Fitted to the Latitude of Forty Degrees, 
and a Meridian of Five Hours Weft from London, 
but may without fenfihle Error, ferve all the ad- 
jacent Places, even from Newfoundland to South- 
Carolina. 



By RICHJRD SJUNDERS.Yhilom. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

Printed and fold by B. FR.JNKLW, at the New 

Prin ting Office near the Market. 

The Third Iroprcffion. 

Facsimile of the Title Page of 

"Poor Richard's Almanack." 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 

of wisdom, which should benefit the common people who 
bought scarcely any other books. 

This almanac was called Poor Richard's Almanack. It 
was published for twenty-five years. In it Franklin 
printed many wise sayings. Here are a few of them: 

" Dost love thy life? Then do not squander time, for 
that is the stuff life is made of." 

"The sleeping fox catches no poultry." 

"Lost time is never found again." 

"Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon over- 
takes it." 

" Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy., 
wealthy, and wise." 

"One to-day is worth two to-morrows." 

FRANKLIN THE CITIZEN 

In 1736 Franklin was elected to his first public office. 
He was made clerk of the General Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania. The next year he was made deputy postmaster- 
general. He now began to think considerably of public af- 
fairs, always planning something to help the common people. 

The first thing that he did was to organize a better 
police force. Then he formed a fire company, the first in 
Philadelphia. This company had no engines or hose carts, 
as fire companies have to-day. Every member had to 
keep ready for use a certain number of leather water- 
buckets and some strong bags and baskets, in which to 
carry goods out of the burning house. 

In Franklin's day all the houses were heated by great 
open fireplaces, near which you might sit and scorch 
your face while your back froze. Franklin invented an 
open stove which heated the entire room and at the same 
time saved fuel. 

179 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

And, lover of learning that he was, he could not be 
satisfied to think that Pennsylvania had no college. In 
1749 he succeeded in getting an academy founded. This 
was the beginning of the present University of Pennsyl- 
vania. Philadelphia's public library, too, was started 
through Franklin's efforts. 

Once a doctor came to him and asked him to help 
in establishing a hospital for poor sick people. The doc- 
tor said, "When I ask people to subscribe to this, they 
always say, ' Have you consulted Franklin, what does he 
think of it?'" The people of Pennsylvania had come 
to think that nothing could succeed without Benjamin 
Franklin's good sense behind it. Franklin undertook the 
business and soon had established a Philadelphia hospital. 

A great many more things were done for Pennsyl- 
vania, and especially for Philadelphia, by Franklin. He 
had the streets cleaned, paved, and lighted. He invented 
street lamps that did not smoke as the London lamps did. 

Once when Franklin was in Boston, he met a man 
who showed him several electrical experiments. Franklin 
had known nothing of electricity before this time and was 
much interested in it. 

A Dutchman living in the Dutch city of Leyden had 
discovered how to collect electricity in bottles, which he 
called Leyden jars. Franklin got one of these jars filled 
with electricity and soon had tried many experiments 
with it. His house was crowded with friends who came 
to see what he could do. He wrote a paper claiming that 
electricity and lightning were the same, and performed a 
famous experiment in proof of his belief. 

He made a kite by fastening two cross sticks to a 
silk handkerchief. To the upright stick was fastened an 
iron point. The string of the kite was of common hemp, 
except the end which he held in his hand; this was of 

180 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 






silk. Where hemp and silk were fastened together, a key 
was tied. When Franklin saw a thunderstorm coming 
he went out and raised the kite. A thundercloud passed 
over it; and after a little, the loose fibers of the hemp 
string stood out stiffly. Franklin put his knuckles to the 
key and received a 
strong shock. Then he 
tried to fill a Leyclen 
jar with the electricity 
which came down the 
string, and he suc- 
ceeded. Thus he had 
proved his theory. 

Franklin's next in- 
vention was the light- 
ning rod to protect 
houses from lightning 
by conducting elec- 
tricity into the ground. 

In 1753 Franklin 
was made postmaster- 
general of the colonies, 
and made many im- 
provements in the 
postal service. 

The people of the 
colonies now began to 
see that the French 
were pushing their way to the headwaters of the Ohio 
and down Lake Champlain from the north, and that they 
were determined to profit by the discoveries which 
Champlain and La Salle had made many years before. 
Something must be done to stop the French, so the 
English colonies sent men to Albany to meet the chiefs 

181 




Franklin and His Kite. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

of the Iroquois (the old enemies of the French) and to 
find means of holding the country. Pennsylvania sent 
Franklin as her representative to the convention. On 
the way to Albany, Franklin made a plan for the union of 
the colonies under one government. 

When the convention met, several plans were talked 
over, and it was decided that Franklin's was the best. 
But when the scheme was laid before the different colonies 
they did not like it because, they said, "it did not give 
the colonists enough power." And when it was laid be- 
fore the people of England, they said it gave the colonists 
too much power. So the plan, wise as it was, was not 
adopted. 

Later when the battle of Lexington had been fought, 
and the farmers at Concord had "fired the shot heard 
round the world," and the American Revolution had be- 
gun, Franklin was sent as a delegate to the Second Con- 
tinental Congress; and he was one of the five men chosen 
to prepare the Declaration of Independence, which was 
signed July 4, 1776, making the United States of America 
an independent nation. 

As the members of the Congress were signing the Dec- 
laration, John Hancock, one of the signers, said, "We 
must all hang together." 

"Yes," said Franklin, "we must hang together or we 
shall hang separately." 

You must remember that while England was a very 
rich and powerful nation the United States was very poor 
indeed. So her Congress decided to send to France to 
ask for aid in her fight for liberty. In all America there 
was just one man who could persuade the French people 
to help the United States, and Congress knew it. They 
sent Benjamin Franklin, seventy years old, and suffering 
with rheumatism and gout, "I am old and good for 

182 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 



nothing," he said; "as the storekeepers say of their rem- 
nants of cloth, I am but a fag end; you may have me for 
what you please." 

When Franklin reached Paris he found the whole city 
ready to receive him. 
Everyone had heard 
of the great Dr. 
Franklin. 

But while fame 
was plenty, money was 
scarce. Franklin had 
to be very careful and 
very wise indeed to 
get the help which the 
United States needed. 
Finally, in 1778, the 
French signed a treaty 
promising ships, men, 
and money. You may 
be sure the news of 
that treaty was most 
welcome. 

In 1781 the glad news reached Paris that the English 
general, Cornwallis, had surrendered to General Washing- 
ton at Yorktown. The war was over. In 1783 men from 
America and England met in Paris to make the treaty of 
peace. Through all this time Benjamin Franklin's wise 
counsel was serving his country well. 

It was not until 1785 that Franklin came home for the 
last time. He was so feeble that he could not ride in a 
carriage and had to be taken from Paris to the seacoast, 
a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, in the " Queen's 
litter," a kind of covered couch carried between two 
mules. When the ship reached Philadelphia all the bells 

183 




From an old print. 

Benjamin Franklin. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

of the city were rung, and cannon were fired in honor of 
his safe arrival. 

When he had been home but a few weeks Franklin 
was elected president of Pennsylvania. Old and weak 
as he was, the people would not let him off. " They have 
eaten my flesh," he said jokingly, "and now they are 
picking my bones." 

In 1787 Franklin performed his last duty to his coun- 
try. The wise men of the United States met in Philadel- 
phia to make the Constitution, and Franklin was chosen 
one of the delegates. 

In 1790 the first great American passed away. His 
work lives after him in the nation that he did so much 
to build. 

Summary 

Benjamin Franklin was the first American to work for the 
welfare of the Colonies as a whole; he was the first to plan the 
union of the Colonies under one government. — He was one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence and one of the makers 
of the Constitution. He was sent to persuade the French to aid 
the Colonies in their fight for liberty. — He is known as the 
First Great American. — Besides his services to the Nation, 
Franklin discovered that lightning and electricity are the same 
thing and invented the lightning rod. — He published Poor 
Richard's Almanac for twenty-five years. — Through his efforts 
the University of Pennsylvania was founded and a public 
library and a hospital were established in Philadelphia. 



XIX 
MONTCALM AND WOLFE 
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS 

By the middle of the eighteenth century the colonies 
of England and France were firmly planted in North 
America. Along the courses of two great rivers — the 
St. Lawrence and the Mississippi — the French had crept 
in and made settlements, strengthening themselves by 
mighty forts along the St. Lawrence, and by a straggling 
chain of weaker ones along the Mississippi. And what 
a great country the claim of these two rivers gave the 
French; all the wilderness region watered by the Missis- 
sippi and its branches; all the valley of the St. Lawrence, 
the Great Lakes, and Lake Champlain. 

To offset this mighty empire, England had a narrow 
strip of Atlantic seacoast, settled by thirteen colonies. 
Doesn't it seem that England's claim was small beside 
that of France? But remember that although it was 
only the coast region that was settled, England claimed 
that her colonies extended straight across North America 
to the Pacific Ocean. 

If you will look at your map, you will see that a great 
deal of the land claimed by France and England was the 
very same land. The French claimed the entire Mississippi 
Valley; the English claimed the greater part of it. The 
French claimed all the region of the Great Lakes, includ- 
ing a good part of the present state of New York, while the 

185 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



English claimed a- great deal of the lake region for them- 
selves, including all of New York. 

As France and England were usually fighting with each 
other at home, one could hardly expect that their colonies 
could live in peace in America, especially when both claimed 
the same territory. War had to come, and war came. 




The Present Territory of the United States as Claimed by the 
French, English, and Spanish in 1749. 

(It must be remembered that the French and English claims overlapped.) 

There were four wars between the French and the 
English in America, lasting off and on from 1689 to 1763. 
The last one was the most important; it settled matters 
for all time. 

There were about fourteen times as many English in 
America as there were French. But the French bal- 
anced this disadvantage by the help of many tribes of 
bloodthirsty Indians. The English, on the other hand, 
had only the Iroquois to help them. 

186 



MONTCALM AND WOLFE 



It was in the year 1749 that the very beginnings of 
the last war between the French and the English in Amer- 
ica were made. The French Governor of Canada saw 
that the daring English settlers were pushing their way 
westward into the Ohio Valley. If once a colony of Eng- 
lish should be firmly planted in the valley of the Ohio, it 
would be an easy 
thing for them to 
get between the 
French of Canada 
and the French of 
Louisiana. Thus 
the English could 
creep north and 
south and attack 
the French from the 
very heart of the 
country they called 
their own. 

This invading of 
the French claims 
along the Ohio con- 
tinued and was 
greatly troubling the French when the Marquis Duquesne 
was sent as the new Governor of Canada. 

"We will go straight down to the Ohio country/' said 
Governor Duquesne, "and build strong forts." So a 
French expedition set out. First, they stopped on the 
shore of Lake Erie, and built a fort at a place which they 
called Presqueisle. Then they made a road through the 
woods to French Creek, where they built another fort, 
which they called Fort Le Bceuf. 

Here they were much surprised to see a tall young man 
on horseback coming out of the woods with a dozen white 

187 




The Disputed Territory. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

men and Indians. The young man's name was George 
Washington, and he brought a letter from Governor Din- 
widdie of Virginia. "Will you please tell me/' said the 
letter, " what right you have on land which belongs to the 
King of England? I must ask you to leave at once." 

The French treated young Major Washington well, but 
they refused to leave. 

When Washington returned to Governor Dinwiddie he 
told him that he had found a splendid place for a fort at 
the forks of the Ohio, where Pittsburg now stands. 

While he was trying to stir up the half-hearted colonies 
to see their danger, Governor Dinwiddie sent young Wash- 
ington to occupy the Ohio country. A group of back- 
woodsmen were to go ahead and build the fort at the forks 
of the Ohio. 

Working on their fort, these men saw a great swarm of 
boats floating down the Monongahela. The boats were 
full of Frenchmen. "We will save you the trouble of 
building your fort," said the Frenchmen. The back- 
woodsmen fled over the mountains to meet Washington, 
while the French tore down their fort and built a bigger 
and better one. This they named Fort Duquesne, after 
the Governor of Canada. Then the French attacked 
Washington's little army and utterly defeated it. 

England now saw that something must be done. It 
was decided that all of the strongest forts of the French 
must be attacked. This was the plan: General Braddock 
was to take soldiers from England and capture Fort Du- 
quesne; Governor Shirley of Massachusetts was to take a 
body of colonists and attack Fort Niagara; Colonel William 
Johnson, who lived on the Mohawk, and had great influ- 
ence with the Indians, was to attack Crown Point; and 
another army of colonists was to attack Acadia, or Nova 
Scotia, as it is now called. 

188 



MONTCALM AND WOLFE 

In 1755, General Braddock, with his well-drilled red- 
coats, reached Virginia. 

Braddock was a brave man, but he did not like to 
listen to other people's advice. When Washington told 
him of the Indian ways of fighting, he laughed and said 
that trained British soldiers could not learn warfare from 
ignorant savages. But before he even reached Fort Du- 
quesne, his splendid army of redcoats was surprised by 
the French, who easily scored another victory. And 
General Braddock was killed. 



MONTCALM AND WOLFE— THE CLOSE OF THE WAR 

Braddock's defeat at Fort Duquesne was a crushing 
blow to England and her colonies. The attack upon 
Niagara was scarcely more successful, and that upon 
Crown Point amounted to little. 

Although the English did not 
seem to be making much headway, 
the French decided that the best of 
soldiers should be sent to America. 
The French King looked about for 
a good general to command the 
French forces in America, and he 
chose Louis de Montcalm, one of the 
best soldiers and truest gentlemen 
in ail France. ., „ 

The only important victory of Cs^/fflZ&ZJw- + 
1756 was won by Montcalm. This 

was the capture of the English fort at Oswego. Oswego 
was one of the strongest and most important of the Eng- 
lish forts, as it was located on Lake Ontario; and its loss 
was a great misfortune for the English. 

The next year Montcalm struck another important 
14 189 




A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

blow. News came that the best of the English troops had 
gone to attack Louisburg, which commanded the entrance 
of the St. Lawrence. This expedition left the two Eng- 
lish forts, Fort William Henry, on Lake George, and Fort 
Edward, on the Hudson, without strong protection. 







The French Forts on the Northern Frontier. 



This was just what Montcalm wanted. He sent mes- 
sengers to the north and west to gather the Indians into 
Montreal. Then with a body of eight thousand men Mont- 
calm marched south and placed his army between Fort 
William Henry and Fort Edward, in order to prevent the 

190 



MONTCALM AND WOLFE 

soldiers of Fort Edward from coming to help defend Fort 
William Henry. 

After a siege of three days, the men defending Fort 
William Henry saw that there was no hope of receiving 
aid from any direction. A white flag was raised, a drum 
was beaten, and one of the English officers left the fort and 
approached Montcalm's tent. Montcalm agreed that the 
English should march out with the honors of war, and that 
they should be taken to Fort Edward the next day under 
the protection of French soldiers. 

Montcalm called a council of the Indian chiefs and 
made them promise not to allow the English to be hurt. 
The chiefs promised, but the promise was kept in a savage 
fashion. The next morning, before the French were stir- 
ring, they fell upon the English, and commenced a terrible 
massacre. Montcalm rushed out at the first news of dis- 
turbance and threw himself among the Indians, crying, 
" Kill me, but spare the English who are under my pro- 
tection/' But even their general's bravery was useless 
among these savages. Montcalm found that it was easier 
to lead Indians to battle than to lead them away from it. 
He was glad indeed when his army once more turned 
toward Montreal. 

In the meantime, the English expedition against 
Louisburg had failed. At the end of the year 1757 the 
fortunes of the English looked very dark indeed. 

That year a new prime minister was put at the 
head of affairs in England. This was William Pitt, 
a very wise man, who understood America better than 
most English people did. "Something has to be done," 
said he. 

In 1758 he planned three campaigns. " First," he said, 
"we must take Louisburg, as the first step toward taking 
Quebec. Then we must capture Ticonderoga, which is 

191 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

right in the heart of the northern colonies. Next we must 
take Fort Duquesne, the key to the great West." 

General Amherst was sent to attack Louisburg, and 
with him came a young brigadier named James Wolfe. 
James Wolfe was the son of an officer in the English army. 
Although very delicate in health, he had longed from 
earliest childhood to be a soldier. At fifteen he had entered 
the army, and at sixteen had served as adjutant of his 
regiment in Flanders. He passed through several military 
campaigns in Scotland, and at twenty-three was made a 
lieutenant colonel. All this time he had kept up a con- 
stant battle with ill health. He was a great student, and 
spent all his spare time in study. 

Wolfe loved his mother very dearly and confided to 
her all his hopes and ambitions. Once he said to her, 
" All I wish for myself is that I may at all times be ready 
to die, and may die properly when the hour comes." 
How that wish came true you may judge for yourself. 

Louisburg was indeed the strongest fort in America, 
but this time the men who had come to attack it were 
very determined. They meant to win. Of these the 
bravest and most eager for danger was young Brigadier 
Wolfe, and there were none who won greater honors there. 
After a long and stubborn siege, the fort was taken by the 
English, with almost six thousand French prisoners. 

The English capture of Louisburg meant a great loss 
to the French. It gave the English the key to the St. Law- 
rence. They could now sail straight up to Quebec. This, 
Wolfe wanted to do at once. He had no patience with 
the slow movements of the older English generals. 

The English attack upon Ticonderoga did not succeed. 
The English leader, Lord Howe, was killed before the siege 
fairly began. Montcalm defended the fort and fought 
fearlessly; wherever danger was greatest he was always 

192 



MONTCALM AND WOLFE 

to be seen, directing everything, and encouraging his men. 
The French won the day. 

This, however, was the last triumph which the French 
were to have. Before the end of 1758, Fort Duquesne and 
Fort Frontenac had both fallen into the hands of the 
English. 

There remained yet the one great stronghold of the 
French, the rock- walled city of Quebec. If Quebec were 
to be taken, the St. Lawrence would belong to the Eng- 
lish. In 1759 Pitt appointed for this purpose the very 
man who most longed to attack Quebec, young James 
Wolfe, now only thirty-two years old. 

By May, Wolfe had his fleet collected in the harbor of 
ljouisburg. In June they sailed out, the troops cheering 
and crying, " British colors on every French fort, post, and 
garrison in America?" 

In Quebec, Montcalm was making great preparations 
to receive his unwelcome guests. Sixteen thousand men, 
including French soldiers, Canadians, and Indians, poured 
into the city. All along the borders of the St. Lawrence, 
Montcalm had men throwing up defenses. Every gate of 
the city, except the river gate, was closed and barricaded. 
More than one hundred cannon were mounted on the 
walls, while gunboats and fire ships lay along the river. 
Fortified upon that high rock, Quebec seemed like a great 
eagle's nest far beyond the reach of men. 

Wolfe entered the St. Lawrence and landed, leaving 
his fleet anchored in the river. Montcalm saw this, and 
had the fire ships, filled with tar, pitch, old iron, and gun- 
powder, lighted and set afloat down the river. For a 
time the English on the ships were frightened. But the fire 
ships did the English no harm ; some drifted ashore before 
they reached the English fleet, and the rest were pushed 
away by the grappling hooks of the bold English sailors. 

193 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Wolfe had landed, but could find no way to get at the 
enemy. From lofty Quebec, Montcalm could watch the 
movements of the British; and he decided that it was 
safer to watch them than offer battle. Wolfe finally took 
up his position on a height opposite Quebec. Here he 

waited for an op- 
portunity to attack 
Montcalm. Besides, 
he hoped for rein- 
forcements. 

But the rein- 
forcements did not 
come, and, on the 
other hand, there 
seemed to be no way 
to provoke Mont- 
calm to battle. 
Wolfe's old sickness 
came upon him, and 
his officers feared 
that he would not 
live to see more 
fighting. But he got 
better again, and 
even tried to be 
cheerful. 

One day in Sep- 
tember Wolfe set 
out with his spy-glass and sailed up and down the river, 
studying the steep side of the rock of Quebec. He spied a 
narrow and rugged ravine, leading up the side of the rock. 
At once he formed a daring plan. 

That night the boats of the English floated silently 
down the river. Landing, Wolfe, at the head of the Eng- 

194 







: 


Ik. / 






%Wl 




Jfc «**' # ' ■ ' •* 


{.mm 


i 


. ^ 


it 




i»-m~*im «* "C *» . 












From an old print. 

The Stege of Quebec. 



MONTCALM AND WOLFE 

lish troops, scrambled up the narrow ravine which he had 
seen during the day. Drawing themselves up by the 
roots and branches of trees, they reached the top. In the 
gray of the morning the young commander lined up his 
red-coated soldiers on the Plains of Abraham, with the 
city directly in front of him. 

"They come! They come!" cried a swift runner to 
Montcalm. "Who come?" asked Montcalm, in surprise. 




From a painting by Chappel. 

Death of General Wolfe. 

" The English ! " was the excited reply, and " The Eng- 
lish!" was echoed in terror throughout the city. 

It seemed impossible, but it was true. The French 
general drew up his troops to meet the English, in front 
of the walls of Quebec. " I remember well how he looked," 
said one of the Canadians many years after. " He rode a 
black horse along the front of our lines, brandishing his 
sword, as if to excite us to do our duty." 

Wolfe too was everywhere, encouraging the men, kind 
195 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

and thoughtful to the wounded, praising the brave. As 
he was leading a charge at the head of his grenadiers, a 
shot shattered his wrist. He wrapped his handkerchief 
about it and went on. Another shot struck him, but he 
still kept on. A third lodged in his breast. He stag- 
gered and, as he fell, was caught in the arms of his sol- 
diers. They carried him to the rear. 

" Will you have a surgeon? " they asked. 

"There's no need," he said. "It's all over with me." 

A moment later one of the men cried, " They run! See 
how they run!" 

Wolfe raised himself for the last time. "Who run?" 
he asked. 

"The enemy, sir; they give way everywhere." 

"Now, God be praised, I die in peace," said the dying 
man. 

A few moments later Montcalm, on his gallant black 
horse, was shot through the body. A soldier caught him 
on each side and led his horse through the city gates. 

"It is nothing, nothing," said Montcalm. "Don't be 
troubled for me, my good friends." 

"How long have I to live?" he asked the surgeon a 
little later. 

"Twelve hours," was the answer. "So much the bet- 
ter," he said. "I am happy that I shall not live to see 
the surrender of Quebec." 

The capture of Quebec by the English was the last 
blow to French power in America. One nation was wild 
with joy, and one bitter with grief. In far-away England 
and France two homes mourned apart. Two mothers 
were weeping for their cherished sons, whose lives had 
been given for their countries. 

The final settlement of the war between France and 
England came with the Treaty of Paris, made in 1763. 

196 



MONTCALM AND WOLFE 

By its terms France ceded to England all her American 
possessions east of the Mississippi River, with the ex- 
ception of two small islands near the Newfoundland coast. 
Thus ended French rule on the American continent. 



Summary 

In 1749, the French and the English in America began to 
quarrel about their overlapping land claims. — Because the French 
employed Indian allies, the war is known as the French and 
Indian War. — In trying to take the Ohio country, the English 
under General Braddock were defeated, 1755. 

In 1756 and 1757, under Louis de Montcalm, the French put 
themselves in control of central New York, and successfully 
defended Louisburg, the entrance to the St. Lawrence. — In 1758, 
the English seized Louisburg and captured the Ohio forts. — In 
1759, under General Wolfe they captured Quebec and ended the 
war. — By the Treaty of Paris, 1763, England gained Canada 
and all the Frencn possessions east of the Mississippi, with the 
exception of two small islands near the Newfoundland coast. 



XX 

PATRICK HENRY 

"GOD SAVE THE KING!" 

Quebec fell. The French and Indian War came to an 
end. And with its close came the last of French power in 
America. On that September day of 1759 it seemed as if 
the might of England were established in America forever, 
and "God save the King" was sung in every village and 
town of the loyal English colonies. 

The long struggle was over. The victory was won. 
And now the colonists turned to the peaceful duties of 
home once more. Life was much the same as before the 
war, and yet in some respects there were marked differ- 
ences. 

To begin with, the English colonists no longer dreaded 
the French and their cruel Indian friends. Moreover, the 
courage and perseverance which had gained this great 
blessing had not all belonged to the King's red-coated 
troops. The colonists justly felt that they themselves had 
done much toward conquering the foe. They had left their 
homes and families, had made long hard journeys over 
unbroken lands, and had fought shoulder to shoulder with 
the English troops on many battlefields. Yes, surely the 
victory belonged as fully to them as to the King's regulars. 
Their pride was great. 

Before the war each colony had stood alone. But now 
the settlers from the different colonies had met in a com- 

198 



PATRICK HENRY 



mon cause, had fought a common foe, and had come to 
realize that they dwelt in a common country — one well 
worth fighting for. 

And so, with their enemy beaten, their ability to fight 
established, and their love for their land increased, these 
loyal colonists sent up the heartfelt petition, "God save 
the King!" 

Meanwhile, however, in 1760, the King of England, 
George II, died; and immediately his grandson was pro- 
claimed King in his place. 
Just as the colonists were set- 
tling down to work, and start- 
ing to enlarge their already 
profitable trade, this new king, 
George III, took a step which 
threatened trouble for them. 

About one hundred years 
before George III became 
king, England had passed cer- 
tain "Navigation Acts." 
These Acts had declared that 
the English colonies in Ameri- 
ca must not carry on trade 
with any countries other than 

England and her possessions, must not ship their goods 
in any but English or colonial ships, and must not manu- 
facture their own products into finished articles. But 
these laws had not been enforced; and so, in spite of 
their existence, the colonies had sent their goods to Spain, 
France, and the West Indies, and had used their lumber, 
iron, furs, and other products as they saw fit. 

All this was now to be changed. George III proposed 
to put the old Navigation Acts into force and to insist 
that his American colonies obey them. 

199 




George III of England. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

This meant nothing short of ruin to colonial commerce. 
As the colonists had disobeyed the Navigation Acts for 
so long, without hindrance, there seemed no reason why 
they should obey them now. Hence they commenced to 
smuggle goods and to hide them in their houses. 

The King was determined to stop the smuggling, so 
he issued "Writs of Assistance." These writs gave the 
King's colonial officers the right to enter any suspected 
house and search it. This made it easy for an officer who 
suspected a colonist unjustly to enter his house, and very 
unpleasant for an innocent colonist to have his house 
searched from top to bottom at the whim of an officer. 
Bitter feeling sprang up, and appeal after appeal was sent 
to the King — but all in vain. 

King George had found that, with his throne, he had 
inherited enormous debts. One of them was the great 
cost of the French and Indian War. Moreover, he in- 
tended to keep British soldiers in America, to prevent the 
French from regaining what they had lost. This standing 
army would be a further expense. But why should not 
his prosperous American colonists be made to pay for a 
war that had been fought chiefly in their behalf? Why 
should they no.t also help to support a standing army sent 
for their protection? 

The next question was how best to get some of the 
colonists' money into the English treasury. The King 
and his Parliament decided to do this by means of a stamp 
tax. Stamps of different kinds and values were to be is- 
sued and sent to America to be sold. Thereafter, in Amer- 
ica, no business paper, such as an insurance agreement, a 
will, a note, or a deed, would be legal unless it were written 
on paper that bore one of these stamps — the stamp of 
right kind and value for that particular purpose. The 
stamps were to be so varied in their uses that they would 

200 



PATRICK HENRY 



cover nearly every line of business. Even each newspaper 
was to be stamped, so that the man who bought it would 
pay, not only for the thing itself, but for its stamp as well. 
All the money received from the sale of the stamps would 
go to the English Government. 

To George HI this seemed an excellent plan. Early 
in 1765 the Stamp Act, as it was called, was passed by 
Parliament. Word was sent to the American colonists 
that by November 1st of that same year they might look 
for their stamps; for on that day the Stamp Act would be 
put in force. 

THE FIRST BREACH 

The news that the Stamp Act had been passed swept 
from end to end of the colonies. Everywhere men heard 
it with serious faces and asked each other what it meant. 

What worried the colonists was not that they must 
help pay England's war debt, al- 
though they had already fully paid 
their share ; or that they were ordered 
to support in their midst an army of 
British soldiers, just when they had 
learned to defend themselves. The 
trouble was that they had not been 
consulted in these matters. Never 
before had England tried to tax her 
American colonies without their con- 
sent. Were they to allow it now? 

Virginia was the first to summon her House of Bur- 
gesses, as her legislative assembly was called, in an effort 
to find an answer to the grave question. Its members 
met at Williamsburg, on the 30th of May, 1765. The 
discussion began. All were opposed to the Stamp Act, but 
the remedies that they suggested for the evil were ex- 

201 




A Colonial Stamp. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

tremely mild. True Englishmen at heart were the Vir- 
ginia burgesses, and the lifelong habit of obedience to 
their King prevented most of them from any thought of 
radical action. " Let us send the King a statement of our 
rights and petition him to consider them/' said these con- 
servative members. 

For a moment no protest was raised. Then Patrick 
Henry rose slowly to his feet. All turned toward him 



d& 'p 


♦>A - : l> Tk M ] f I 






'-.. ■ 



Patrick Henry Addressing the House of Burgesses. 

wonderingly, and well they might. Only twenty-nine 
years old, roughly dressed, stoop-shouldered and awk- 
ward, surely this new member could have little to say on 
so great a subject. Quietly glancing from one to another 
of the dignified bewigged and beruffied older members, 
Henry began to speak. 

According to English law, he argued, King George 
could place no tax on his subjects at home or abroad with- 
out the consent of those subjects or their representatives 

202 



PATRICK HENRY 

in Parliament. Had the American colonies been asked 
their opinion of this Stamp Act? No! Had they any 
representatives in England's Parliament to give consent to 
such a measure? No! Then clearly King George had no 
right to demand that his American colonists pay this tax 
or buy his stamps. And he, Patrick Henry, had written 
some resolutions which he respectfully requested the bur- 
gesses to hear. 

These resolutions he read from the fly leaf of an old 
book on which he had just jotted them down. They were 
a clear and concise statement of the rights granted the 
Virginians by their charter — rights which belonged to each 
and every subject of the English King, wherever he dwelt 
in that King's domains. And, concluded the resolutions, 
His Majesty's liege people, the inhabitants of this colony, 
are not bound to obey any law which imposes a tax, unless 
that law is made by the Virginia House of Burgesses. 
Moreover, any person who denies this exclusive right to the 
House of Burgesses shows himself an enemy to the colony. 

At once all was excitement. On every hand the con- 
servative members were attacking this open defiance of 
the King — this declared intention to disobey his stamp 
law. 

Again Patrick Henry rose to his feet. This time his 
head was high, his eyes flashed, and his wonderful voice 
thrilled every listener. In plain terms he now repeated 
his views of the Stamp Act, and the King and Parlia- 
ment who had passed it. "Caesar had his Brutus/' he 
cried, "Charles the First his Cromwell, and George the 
Third " 

"Treason! Treason!" rose on all sides. 

"And George, the Third may profit by their example. 
If this be treason, make the most of it," added Henry; 
and without another word he took his seat. 

203 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Now followed argument after argument for and against 
Patrick Henry's resolutions. And gradually, one by one, 
the members of the Virginia House of Burgesses began to 
see the situation with Henry's eyes. 

Finally came the deciding vote. When it was counted, 
it was found that Patrick Henry's resolutions, in a slightly 
modified form, had been adopted. 

Henry, content with the result, threw his saddlebags 
over his arm and set off for home, leading his horse. He 
had made his fight and won. Compared with this, it mat- 
tered little to him that he had 
been charged with treason. And 
yet to be charged with treason 
was no small affair. Treason 
means an attempt to betray one's 
country, or one's king. It is still 
considered the greatest crime that 
a soldier or a citizen can commit ; 
and in Patrick Henry's day its 
punishment was death. 

Troublous times followed. In- 
to the peaceful relations with Eng- 
land a breach had come. Wider 
and wider it grew. Still, as at the 
beginning, the conservatives were in favor of patching up 
the gap and holding to the mother country. Patrick 
Henry, on the other hand, felt that only galling chains 
could now tie the American colonies to England. Hear 
his words to the members of the House of Burgesses 
assembled in Richmond, when the crisis came in 1775: 

"Gentlemen may cry ' Peace! Peace!' but there is no 
peace. The war is actually begun. The next gale that 
sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of 
resounding arms. Our brethren are already in the field. 

204 




PATKICK HENKY 

What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? 
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the 
price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! 
I know not what course others may take; but, as for me, 
give me liberty, or give me death!" 



Summary 

To pay for the cost of the French and Indian War and the 
expense of a standing army in the colonies, England levied taxes 
on the colonists. -^-The colonists refused to pay the taxes which 
had been imposed without their consent. — The first tax was 
levied by means of the Stamp Act, 1765. — The Virginia House 
of Burgesses passed resolutions introduced by Patrick Henry, 
refusing to pay any tax unless levied by their own representa- 
tives. — The speeches of Patrick Henry incited the colonists to 
fight for freedom. 



15 



XXI 

SAMUEL ADAMS 

THE STAMP ACT 

Virginia was the first colony to declare her opposi- 
tion to the Stamp Act after it became a law. Patrick 
Henry's resolutions against it were printed and scattered 
broadcast throughout the country. Their sentiments were 
read with satisfaction from north to south. But nowhere 
did they find a stronger echo than in the hearts of the 
Massachusetts colonists. 

Here, even before the Stamp Act had been passed, 
these stanch New Englanders had begun to voice their 
opinions of old England's doings. No sooner had the 
mere rumor that such a law might be passed reached 
America than Samuel Adams made known his views on 
the matter. 

This Samuel Adams was a Harvard graduate, a 
thinker, a lover of his country. For several years he had 
served in one office after another, until now, at the age of 
forty-two, he had come to be as well versed in colonial 
needs and conditions as any man in Massachusetts. 

There was not the slightest question in his mind re- 
garding this proposed Stamp Act. Not only through the 
common rights of all Englishmen, but also by their charter, 
the Massachusetts colonists could claim a voice as to the 
taxes they were to pay. England could not tax her col- 
onies without the consent of their representatives. The 

206 



SAMUEL ADAMS 

American colonies had no representatives in Parliament. 
Therefore there was but one conclusion: England had no 
right to pass this law. 

So Samuel Adams believed, and so he stoutly declared. 
And others were so convinced that he was right that a 
protest based on his views was sent to England, stating 
how Massachusetts felt. 

However, as we have seen, the King and his Parlia- 
ment passed the Stamp Act 
and notified the American col- 
onies that it would go into effect 
on November 1, 1765. 

When that day dawned in 
America, the sun shone on a 
state of affairs which King 
George had not foreseen. Flags 
waved at half-mast, shops were 
closed, and business was at a 
standstill. The colonists had 
agreed that, come what might, 
they would not buy the stamps, g^a tT-yj^vC^^f^ 1 ^ 
Already boxes of them had been 

seized, and burned or thrown into the sea. And already 
the men chosen to sell the hated stamps had been point- 
edly warned not to attempt to carry out their orders. 

How was it all to turn out? Surely the time had come 
for stern measures; and, thanks to Samuel Adams, stern 
measures were adopted throughout the colonies. Now it 
was that his nonimportation plan was put into practice. 
This meant that the American colonists refused to buy 
goods from England as long as the Stamp Act remained 
a law. "We will eat nothing, drink nothing, wear nothing 
coming from England, until this detested law is repealed," 
they declared. 

207 




A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Such a course was hard on the English merchants. 
Their large orders from America were canceled, and their 
goods left on their hands. So they, too, pleaded against 
the Stamp Act. 

Even stubborn George III could see at last that a 
mistake had been made, and that he and his Parliament 
must give in to the colonists. But he would do it in his 
own way. The Stamp Act was repealed; but, with the 
repeal, word was sent to America that England declared 
her right to bind her colonies in all cases whatsoever. 

The repeal was received with joy, while the declaration 
passed unnoticed. Once more flags floated free from the 
top of mast, tower, and steeple. Bonfires blazed, bells 
rang, and men shouted from sheer happiness. But their 
joy was short-lived. The very next year they came to 
understand the meaning of England's declaration of her 
right to bind her colonies. Again the mother country 
tried to tax them. This time a duty was placed on glass, 
paper, paints, and tea. 

Again the colonists refused to be taxed without their 
consent. And once more English merchant vessels were 
obliged to sail home with the same cargoes they had 
brought. The colonists would buy nothing from England. 
Bitter indeed was their opposition. 



THE BOSTON TEA PARTY 

Soon the colonists gained another short step in their 
struggle against oppression. King George agreed to take 
off the duty on glass, paper, and paints. The one little 
tax on tea, he positively would not remove; he would 
assert his right to levy duties. But a tax was a tax; and, 
were it small or large, the colonists would not pay it. 

In 1773 word came that several ships laden with tea 
208 



SAMUEL ADAMS 

were headed for America. "We will not buy it," agreed 
the colonists everywhere. And they kept their word. 

Late in November the first of the ships sent to Boston 
entered the harbor. The patriots insisted that the tea 
should not be landed, and placed a guard to watch the 
ship. The Governor insisted that it should be landed, 
and would not permit the ship's captain to sail out of the 
harbor. Thus the matter stood for nineteen days. 

Now there was a law that if a ship lying in the harbor 
was not unloaded by its owner within twenty days, the 
Custom House officers had the right to unload the cargo. 
This must not happen. So on the ship's nineteenth day 
in port the citizens were called together to determine 
what was to be done. By this time two other tea ships 
had arrived. Once more Samuel Adams was on hand 
with a clearly thought-out course of action. 

The owner of the first ship was called, and he agreed 
to clear the harbor if only the Governor would give him 
the necessary permit. "Then go and ask him for it," 
directed the crowd. 

It was December weather, cold and bleak; neverthe- 
less the poor distressed merchant was obliged to make 
his way to Milton Hill where stood the Governor's coun- 
try house. 

The short winter day was over when he returned, but 
the patriots were still waiting, crowded in the gloomy 
meeting house, which was lighted by only a candle here 
and there. 

"What news?" was anxiously asked, as the shipowner 
entered. 

"The Governor refuses to give a pass," came the an- 
swer. 

"This meeting can do nothing more to save the coun- 
try," said Samuel Adams, rising. 

209 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

These words were a signal. As if by magic, an Indian 
war whoop rent the air; and a band of men dressed as 
Indian warriors, in paint and feathers, appeared at the 
door for a moment. Then away they went. 

With a mighty cheer the crowd followed at their heels. 
Down the street they dashed, headed for the tea ships. 
Once on board it was quick work to rip open three hundred 
and forty-two chests of tea and pour their contents into 




The "Boston Tea Party." 

the sea. Their task finished, the Indians disappeared. 
But as they went, on many of their faces the watching 
crowd recognized the familiar smile of old friends. 

From the days of the first rumor of the Stamp Act to 
this December night, — nine anxious years, — Samuel Adams 
had led the people of Massachusetts. Always upholding 
colonial rights; always ready with helpful suggestions; 
always alive to the best interests, not only of his colony, 
but of the whole country, he richly deserved his title of 
"The Father of the Revolution." 

210 



SAMUEL ADAMS 

LEXINGTON AND CONCORD 

When King George heard of the Boston Tea Party 
his anger knew no bounds. This rebellious colony should 
be punished, and that right soundly. 

The Boston port was closed to all trade until the de- 
stroyed tea should be paid for. And General Gage, with 
several regiments, was sent to govern the people of Mas- 
sachusetts. 

"We are outraged/' declared the colonists. "Such 
things are not to be endured." 

So they organized a new government quite independent 



'•Concord 




Lexington /V\« 



The First Bat- 
tlegrounds of 
the Revolu- 
tion. 



of General Gage, with 
John Hancock and 
Samuel Adams at its 
head. 

Nor was this all. 
Massachusetts decid- 
ed to have an army 
of her own to defend 




her rights. "Minutemen/' # the 
soldiers were called, because they agreed to be ready to 
fight at a minute's notice. Arms and ammunition were 
collected, and stored in Concord. 

Before long, news of this hiding place reached General 
Gage. He determined to send a secret expedition to take 
the stores. Nothing seemed easier. Moreover, he knew 
that John Hancock and Samuel Adams were visiting in a 
town called Lexington. Why not kill two birds with one 

211 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

stone and direct his soldiers to march to Concord by way 
of Lexington? Thus they could seize not only the sol- 
diers' arms, but also their rebel leaders. 

The plan seemed perfect. So at dead of night on 
April 18, 1775, General Gage ordered nearly eight hundred 
redcoats to slip quietly out of Boston and march through 
the darkness to Lexington. The start was made. 

However, there was one thing General Gage did not 
count upon. He did not know that Paul Revere had 



'«$ 




The Ride of Paul Revere. 

already suspected this move, and had stationed a com- 
rade,, in the steeple of the Old North Church to signal the 
advance of the British. He did not know that Paul 
Revere himself was even now waiting, bridle in hand, for 
that signal to tell him to carry a warning to Lexington. 

Suddenly two lights flashed out from the Old North 
steeple. In an instant Paul Revere was in the saddle and 
away. His was a wild night ride. As his horse's hoofs 
clattered sharply in the stillness, men threw open their 
windows and were greeted with the cry, "To arms! To 
arms! The regulars are coming!" 

212 



SAMUEL ADAMS 



On went the daring rider, until, reaching the house in 
Lexington, where Hancock and Adams were staying, he 
warned them of their danger and led them to safety. 

Just before daybreak of the 19th, the redcoats appeared 
in Lexington and marched to the village green. Here they 
found themselves face to face with a band of minutemen. 

" Disperse, ye rebels! " shouted the British commander. 




The Stone which Marks the Place where the First Shot was Fired. 

"Stand your ground!" urged the patriot leader. No 
one moved. 

Then in answer to their commander's order the regulars 
opened fire. Seven Americans fell. It would have been 
folly for the handful of minutemen to have engaged in 
battle with so many regulars; so, firing an answering 
volley, they retreated. 

Then on to Concord marched the King's troops. Here, 
too, they came too late. The patriots had already carried 
off most of their military stores. Two cannon had been 
left behind. These the British spiked. 

213 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

By this time four hundred minutemen had gathered 
and were marching against the regulars. At Concord 
Bridge the two forces met. And here it was that the 
Americans "fired the shot heard round the world." 

Several redcoats fell, and soon the British soldiers 
gave up the bridge and began to march toward Boston. 

But what a march ! True to their name, the minute- 
men from all about had hurried to their duty. And from 
behind each wall and tree, crouching figures now fired upon 
the retreating regulars. 

All the way the minutemen were at their heels. " They 
fairly seemed to drop from the clouds." 

To go on was desperate. To stop was certain death. 
So, weak with hunger and thirst, the King's boasted troops 
pushed on through the six miles between Concord and 
Lexington, under an almost constant fire. Nearly three 
hundred English soldiers fell dead or dying on the road. 
At Lexington reinforcements joined them; and after a 
short rest, they went on to Boston. 



BUNKER HILL 

It was certain now that war had begun, and the Amer- 
icans went into it heart and souh Collecting a goodly 
army, they formed a semicircle surrounding Boston on its 
land side and laid siege to the town. 

There was a hill overlooking Boston known as Bunker 
Hill, and in June the Americans decided to fortify it. One 
night a detachment made its way up the side of the hill, 
and, working with a will, had dug trenches and thrown 
up breastworks by daybreak. 

With the daylight, the finished fortifications dawned 
on General Gage's astonished sight. This would never 
do! From Bunker Hill the Americans could fire into his 

214 



SAMUEL ADAMS 

very camp. His only course was to drive them away at 
once. 

That same day he sent a force of three thousand sol- 
diers against Bunker Hill. Up the hill they marched. 
Fifteen hundred Americans waited in the trenches. Their 
supply of powder was pitifully small, but their courage 



BOSTON $¥**> 


i , 


E^J^Sf^ 




HMrrfc - iMi tf|jui'l, l fi'i 



From a contemporary print. 

The Burning of Charlestown During the Battle of Bunker Hill. 



was of the finest. "Don't fire till you see the whites of 
their eyes/' ordered the colonial officer in charge. 

On came the British troops, firing as they came. All 
at once a volley thundered from the breastworks. The 
front rank fell. There was a second's pause, and then the 
regulars retreated. 

Rallying their men, the British officers urged them to 
a second attack. The result was the same. Waiting until 
they came within thirty yards, the Americans again fired 
a deadly charge; and again the English troops fell back. 

But now the Americans' powder was spent. So when 
215 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

a third time the enemy advanced, there was no volley to 
check them. Still fighting, however — although clubs, the 
butt ends of their muskets, and stones were their only 
weapons — the Americans were at last driven from their 
fortifications. In the meantime Charlestown was fired by 
the British and the town was burned. 

The battle of Bunker Hill resulted in victory for the 
English and defeat for the Americans. The effect, how- 
ever, was just what might have been expected had the 
reverse been true. England judged General Gage at fault 
in his methods and recalled him in disgrace. To the col- 
onists one point stood out clear and bright above all 
others. Their colonial army had twice forced British reg- 
ulars to retreat. What had been done could be done 
again. And so with renewed courage and stronger faith 
in their final victory, the. whole country now bent every 
nerve toward defending their rights — the rights of tne 
thirteen American colonies. 



Summary 

In Massachusetts, Samuel Adams led the colonists in their 
protest against taxation without representation. — The Colonists 
refused to purchase goods on which a tax must be paid. This 
forced England to repeal the Stamp Act. — England soon levied 
other taxes, including one on tea; but the people still refused to 
allow taxed goods to come ashore and in Boston a cargo of tea 
was destroyed in the harbor. — In consequence, England closed 
the port of Boston and placed Massachusetts under military 
rule. — The colony organized an independent government under 
John Hancock and Samuel Adams, with a militia of colonists. — 
By attempting to seize the colonists' arms and ammunition, the 
British provoked the battles of Lexington and Concord, which 
opened the Revolution, April 19, 1775. — June 17th, the Colo- 
nists were defeated on Bunker Hill. 

216 



. XXII 
GEORGE WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

HIS BOYHOOD 

Among the builders of our country one man looms 
up above them all. Thousands have risked their lives 
in America's battles. Hundreds have given the best of 
their energy to the building of America's institutions, and 
many have served as her chief executive. But none of 
these have needed the steadfast faith and courage to hold 
together a few crude colonists against a king's disciplined 
army. None of these have faced the problem of forming 
a nation out of thirteen impoverished colonies, at the close 
of a long war. At the very head of America's great men 
stands George Washington, the father of his country, 
"first in war, first in peace," and always "first in the 
hearts of his countrymen." 

George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, 
Virginia, on February 22, 1732. While he was still a little 
fellow his father, Augustine Washington, moved to a 
plantation near Fredericksburg, where George attended 
Mr. Hobby's school. 

Mr. Hobby's schoolhouse stood out in a field, and there 
George was commander in chief. With school out and 
work done, drills, parades, and battles became the order 
of the day. Although the young commander was quick- 
tempered and determined, he was generous and willing 
to play fair; and his companions loyally charged num- 

217 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



berless walls and fought countless battles under his 

command. 

When he was eleven, his father died suddenly; and 
/? ty/*/ /? after his father's death 

gtegggg; WusrfU^i^in*/ it was decided that 

George should attend 
school at Bridges 
Creek. 

From the accounts 
of his life at Bridges 
Creek it is hard to de- 
cide whether he 
worked or played with 
greater diligence. His 
copy books still exist, 
all done with such 
neatness and care that 
it would seem as if 
they could have left 
no time for play. On 
the other hand he en- 
tered into so many 
sports, practicing each 
so thoroughly, that it 
would seem as if there 
could have been little 
time for study. In 
running he had no 
equal. Not a boy in 

the school could throw as he could, and with wrestling it 

was the same story. 

While her son was away at school Mrs. Washington 

did not fail to keep in touch with him; and she arranged 

to have him at home whenever possible. She was a stern 

218 



THE 

goung^an** Companion: 

o r. /7A2, 

Arithcmetick made Eafy / / 

WITH 

Plain Directions for a Young Man to attain to 

Read and Write trae Enghjb, with Copies in Vetfe 

for a Writing School. Indicting of Letters to Friends, 

Forms for making Bills, Bonds. Releafes Wills, tSt. 

LIKEWISE, 

Eafy Rules for the Meafuring of Board and 

Timber, by the Carpenter's Plain-Rule, and by Frac- 
tions; with Tables for fuch as h«ve not learned 
Arilhmetick: And to compute the Charge of Build- 
ing a Houfe or any Part theieof. 
Alfo Directions for Meafuring, Guaging, and 

Plotting of Land by Gunttr% Chains and taking heights 
and diftances by the Quadrant and Triangle. The Ufe 
Of Guaur'i Line in Meafuring Globes, Bullets, Walls 
Cones, Spire Steeples, and Barrels-. With the Art of 
Dialling, and Colouring of Work within and with- 
out Doors. Directions for Dying of Stuffe. (7c 

Together with a Map of the Globe of the Earth 

and Water; and Coftmicut'i Defcription of the vifible 
World. Alfo a Map of England; and to know which 
are Cities, and their Diftance from Londen- 

Choice Monthly Obfervations for Gardening 

Planting, Crafting, Inoculating Fruit-Trees, and the 
beft Time to Prune them, and the making Wine 
of Fruit; With experiene'd Medicines for the Poor. 
An Account of Cttrhfaits in London ejid WeMminfter. 



Written by W. Mather, in a plain an eafy Stile, that a 
a young Man may attain the fame without a Tutor. 



The Thirteenth Edition ; With rruny Additions and Altera*- 
_w, tffttiallj of the Arithmetic^ to the Modern. Method. 



London: Printed for S. Clarke, the Corner of Exchange. 
Jib}, next B'trthin Lane, tjx 7 . 



A Page from One of the Books 
Used by George Washington. 



WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

and quick-tempered woman, and when she drove her open 
gig to any part of the plantation and found that the slaves 
had failed to carry out her directions to the letter, they had 
good cause to fear. She was devoted to her children, but 
even they stood in awe of her and gave her unquestioning 
obedience. 

There is a tale which shows that, while demanding 
much, she was just and willing to forgive. Early one 
vacation morning George and some companions were look- 
ing over his mother's splendid Virginia horses. Among 
them was a sorrel which especially- pleased Mrs. Washing- 
ton. George told how no one had ever been able to ride 
this horse, so fierce and ungovernable he was. And then 
because George was young and strong and looking for ad- 
venture, he impulsively proposed that if his friends would 
help him bridle the horse he would ride him. Of course 
they were ready to help, and somehow the bridle was 
put on. George sprang to the horse's back. Away they 
went. The horse reared .and plunged. The other boys 
fairly held their breath, expecting each moment to see 
George thrown. Still he held on. Finally the wild furi- 
ous animal gave one mighty leap into the air, burst a 
blood vessel, and fell dead. Just then came the call to 
breakfast, and the frightened boys walked toward the 
house asking each other, "What shall we do? Who will 
tell what we have done?" 

As luck would have it, at the table Mrs. Washington 
asked, "Have you seen my horses this morning? I am 
told my favorite is in excellent condition." 

The boys exchanged a glance, and then George said, 
"Your favorite, the sorrel, is dead, madam," and went on 
to tell the whole story. 

First an angry flush came to Mrs. Washington's face; 
but when George had finished she proudly raised her head 

219 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

and said, " It is well. While I regret the loss of my favor- 
ite horse, I rejoice in my son who speaks the truth." 

When George was fourteen he took up the study of 
surveying, as that seemed to give the best promise for 




From an old print. 

Washington Surveying. 

the future. Then in the autumn of 1747, Washington's 
schooling came to an end, and he went to Mount Vernon to 
live with his brother Lawrence. 



THE SURVEYOR 

Lord Fairfax, a relative of Mrs. Lawrence Washing- 
ton, owned large tracts of land in the beautiful valley of 

220 



WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

the Shenandoah. All this land had to be surveyed, and 
to his young friend George Washington, Lord Fairfax 
gave the work. Of course Washington was delighted with 
the opportunity; and in March, 1748, when he was sixteen 
years old, he set out on horseback with a small company 
of assistants. 

A hard month was before him. The rivers were so 
swollen from the spring thaws that fords were out of the 
question, and it was necessary' to swim the horses across 
the ugly streams. The weather was cold. Fires were not 
always to be had. Food was none too plentiful. What 
there was, each man must cook for himself on forked sticks 
over the fire. Chips were the only plates. Nights in a 
tent, or more often on the ground, were varied by an 
occasional night in a settler's cabin. 

Such incidents with long hard tramps and constant 
work made up the story of Washington's first surveying 
trip. In April he reached Mount Vernon and laid the 
result of his work before Lard Fairfax. Lord Fairfax went 
over the carefully prepared maps and was so delighted 
that he used his influence to have Washington appointed 
Public Surveyor for Culpeper County. This appointment 
gave authority to his work, and how well it was deserved 
may be seen from the fact that his surveys are unques- 
tioned to this day. 

Now anxious times came to Mount Vernon. Lawrence 
became ill with consumption; and in July, 1752, this much- 
loved brother died. When his will was read it was found 
that he had appointed George guardian of his little daugh- 
ter, and heir to his estates in case the child herself should 
not live. And so it was that on her death, not long after, 
•Mount Vernon became the property of George Washing- 
ton. 

16 221 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

GOVERNOR DINWIDDIE'S MESSENGER 

When Washington was twenty-one years old, the dis- 
putes between the English and French over the possession 
of the Ohio country reached a climax. 

In the spring of 1753 fifteen hundred Frenchmen 
landed at Presqueisle, erected a fort, and set about cutting 
a road through the forests to French Creek, where they 
built Fort Le Bceuf. News of this move was not long in 
spreading throughout the English colonies. What was 
to be done? 

Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia was one of the first 
to realize the seriousness of the question. He promptly 
sent letters to England, telling of the danger. England 
ordered, "Build forts near the Ohio if you can get the 
money. Require the French to depart peacefully; and 
if they will not do so, we do hereby strictly charge and 
demand you to drive them off by force of arms." 

To require the French to depart peacefully was more 
easily said than done. The French were hundreds of 
miles away; many high and rugged mountains rose be- 
tween Williamsburg, Virginia's capital, and the French 
fort; and over half the journey lay through the unbroken 
forests. The man who should carry England's message 
must know something of the country, must understand 
Indian ways, must be used to hardships. He must be 
strong, full of courage, and ready for whatever might 
arise. Such a man was George Washington. And Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddie chose him as his messenger. 

It was the middle of November when the twenty-one- 
year-old leader and his party got away from Will's Creek 
■ — the end of civilization. Tramping through the forests 
amid blinding snowstorms, crossing raging creeks, always 
on the outlook for Indian treachery, slowly they worked 

222 



WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

their way to the French fort, where Washington presented 
Governor Dinwiddie's letter to the French commander. 

For three days the Commander and his officers dis- 
cussed the answer which was to be sent to the English 
Governor. Meanwhile Washington looked over the fort, 
drew its plan, and learned all he could regarding its 
strength and the number of soldiers detailed to guard it. 

Then came the journey home. After nearly a week of 
hard traveling, Washington proposed to Christopher Gist, 
one of his men, that they leave the rest of the party and 
make for Will's Creek on foot. 

They walked eighteen miles the first day. The cold 
was dreadful. All the streams were so frozen that it was 
almost impossible to find water to drink. By night 
Washington was nearly exhausted. The next day they 
met an Indian who seemed so friendly that Washington 
asked him to guide them through that part of the forest. 
For ten miles all went well. Then, as they came to an 
open space, suddenly the. guide, who was only fifteen paces 
ahead, turned and fired. 

"Are you shot?" shouted Washington. 

"No," answered Gist. 

Together they rushed on the Indian before he could 
reload. Gist wished to kill him, but Washington would 
not listen to that. "If you will not have him killed, we 
must get away and then travel all night," urged Gist in 
low tones. " He will surely follow our tracks as soon as it 
is light, and we must have a good start." 

So, pretending that they thought the Indian's shot an 
accident, the two men let him go; and, when sure he was 
out of hearing, they crept away in the opposite direction. 
All that night and all the next day they hurried on, with 
no sleep and with sore and bleeding feet. 

At last they reached the Allegheny River, which was 
223 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



full of floating ice. A whole day was spent in building a 
raft on which to cross. They pushed off. The current 
was swift, and before the raft was halfway across the 
river it was being jammed on every side by cakes of ice. 




n Climbing out of the Frozen Stream. 



Every moment they expected that it would be forced 
under, and that they would perish. Struggling to keep 
a clear space for the raft with a long pole, Washington 
was all at once jerked into the water. It was by the 
merest chance that he was able to catch hold of one of 
the logs and so pull himself back on the raft. 

224 



WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

There seemed no hope of reaching either shore now; 
so when the current carried them near an island, both 
Washington and Gist jumped into the freezing water and 
swam for the land. Gist had all his fingers and some of 
his toes frozen. By morning the ice in the river was solid, 
and it was comparatively easy to reach the mainland. 

A few days later Washington arrived at Williamsburg 
and gave to Governor Dinwiddie the letter that he had 
carried so carefully on his long and dangerous journey. 

As usual, Washington had kept a journal of the trip; 
and this, too, he gave to the Governor, thinking it the 
simplest way to report all the events of his travels. So 
straightforward was the journal and so clearly did it set 
forth the exact conditions on the Ohio, leaving out all 
complaint of hardship, that Governor Dinwiddie ordered 
a copy of it sent to each of the colonial governors. 

Washington found himself the hero of the hour. Xot 
yet twenty-two, he had faced a great responsibility and 
had done well all that he had been asked to do. But 
still, far from being proud and self-satisfied, when he was 
told that his journal was to be published he modestly 
wrote in it, "I think I can do no less than apologize for 
the numberless imperfections of it." 



GREAT MEADOWS AND FORT NECESSITY 

That the French would not depart from the Ohio for 
the asking, was plainly shown by the French Commander's 
reply to Governor Dinwiddie's letter. Then they must be 
driven away by force. Governor Dinwiddie determined 
that Virginia should do her full share, and ordered the en- 
listment of men at Alexandria. In February, 1754, he sent 
out a company to build a fort on a site chosen by Wash- 
ington, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join. 

225 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

On the 2d of April, Washington set out with a small 
force to garrison the fort that was being built. Before 
long, discouraging reports reached him. Five hundred 
Frenchmen had landed and demanded the builders of the 
fort to surrender. They had surrendered, and their 
victors were even now building Fort Duquesne on the 
very site chosen by the English. (See map on p. 187.) 

Here was a gloomy outlook for Washington. How- 
ever, it was decided to push on. When the little army had 
covered about half the distance, an Indian came to Wash- 
ington bearing word that the French army was coming. 

Washington had been expecting as much ; so, hurrying 
his soldiers forward to a place called Great Meadows, he 
had the bushes cleared away and trenches dug. But 
no enemy appeared. A few nights later another Indian 
messenger reported that his chief was in camp six miles 
off and felt sure that the French were hiding near him. 

Prompt to act, Washington took forty of his men and 
joined the Indians. Scouts tracked the French to a hol- 
low surrounded by rocks and trees; and in single file Wash- 
ington, his men, and the Indian warriors crept to the 
French hiding place, and surrounded it. While Washing- 
ton was moving through the trees, he was seen by the 
French. They sprang to their arms. In a moment both 
sides were firing. For fifteen minutes the fighting lasted, 
and then the French gave up. 

This little skirmish proved of much greater importance 
than could have been foreseen. Here was shed the first 
blood of the French and Indian War. Moreover, the at- 
tack of the English added to the French determination to 
drive the English away from the Ohio. Washington ap- 
preciated the situation; and when he got back to Great 
Meadows, he began the work of strengthening Fort Neces- 
sity, as the encampment was now called. 

226 



WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

On the morning of the 3d of July, the French appeared 
before the fort, and a battle began. All day it lasted. At 
eight that night the French asked for a parley, which was 
granted. 

The French proposed that, on condition that the Eng- 
lish would surrender, the whole garrison might go back to 
Virginia. But for a year they must not attempt to build 
any more forts this side of the mountains. 

With almost no provisions, with their powder about 
gone, with more than fifty of their men dead or wounded, 
while the French might be reenforced at any moment, 
Washington and his officers could see no course but to 
accept the conditions. So in the morning the fort was 
deserted, and the weary, half-starved soldiers started 
slowly home. On the way Washington shared their hard- 
ships and encouraged them by his cheerful and uncom- 
plaining endurance. And all the time his heart was heavy. 
He was young; he had set out to win and was going back 
defeated. 

. At Williamsburg he reported to Governor Dinwiddie, 
and then went to Alexandria to recruit new companies to 
lead against the French. 

But England had now decreed that any officer holding 
a commission from the King should outrank any officer 
holding a colonial commission. To have commanded an 
expedition, and then to be outranked by any upstart offi- 
cer from England, was more than Washington's pride 
could bear. He therefore resigned from the service. 



BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 

By his little skirmish with the French in the wilderness. 
Washington had started a war which was to spread be- 
yond the colonies and become of grave concern abroad. 

227 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

France sent eighteen war vessels filled with French 
soldiers to Quebec. And England, not to be outdone, 
likewise sent troops to her colonies. Two regiments 
were assigned to Virginia; and early in 1755 the British 
ships sailed by Mount Vernon to put the soldiers ashore 
at Alexandria, only eight miles away. 

Whether in the army or out, Washington could not with- 
hold a lively interest in the redcoats. Many an early morn- 
ing found him on horseback headed for the English camp. 

Knowing of course who he was and his story, the 
British officers watched the young Virginian as he went 
about their camp. He was six feet two inches tall, broad- 
shouldered, straight as an Indian; and he walked with a 
strong, swinging gait. His dignified bearing, and his way 
of -looking each man in the face, could not fail to win 
friends. And General Braddock, the English commander, 
noticed Washington, learned of his desire to serve and the 
sole reason he was not on duty, and offered him a position 
on his staff. 

Exciting times followed. It was easy to see that the 
strength of the French lay in their splendid line of forts. 
Troops, ammunition, and food could be hurriedly sent 
.from one to another. To defeat the French, this line 
must be broken. Therefore it was agreed that one force 
should be sent to take the post at Niagara; that one should 
march against Crown Point, and a third against Acadia; 
and that General Braddock himself should take Fort 
Duquesne. 

General Braddock was brave, resolute, and energetic. 
But his bravery was of the sort that made him despise 
his enemy; and his energy led him to underestimate the 
task before him. He knew nothing of the Indian way of 
fighting; nothing of the hardships of the wilderness. He 
was extreme in his British contempt for colonists. 

228 



WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

By the middle of May, General Braddock's troops had 
arrived at Will's Creek; and on the 10th of June, 1755, 
the great procession headed for Fort Duquesne. 

The 9th of July was chosen for the attack on the 
French fort, and at sunrise that morning the army was on 
the move. What a sight it was! With drums beating, 
fifes playing, flags flying, bayonets flashing in the sun, and 




Braddock's March. 



redcoats showing bright against the forest green, the army 
marched to victory. All was in perfect order. Riding 
with the General's staff, Washington was thrilled and 
delighted. Finally the last ford was made, and now Fort 
Duquesne was only eight miles away. 

"Forward! March!" ordered the officers, and the 
soldiers went briskly along the road that led through the 
forest to the fort. 

Suddenly a French officer was seen rushing down the 
229 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



road, while behind him came swarms of French and In- 
dians. At a signal, they darted into the woods, hid them- 
selves among the trees and in the thickets, and with blood- 
curdling yells began pouring a deadly fire into the English 
lines. 

"Scatter your men as they have done," Washington 

begged the Gen- 
eral. But that 
was not the Eng- 
lish way of fight- 
ing. The soldiers 
must stand in 
ranks to fire. The 
fearful yells and 
the smoke from 
the enemies' rifles 
were all t h a i 
told them where 
to aim. 

The officers did 
everything in their 
power to keep 
order and encour- 
age the men. But 
soldier after sol- 



dier fell, picked off 
by the shots of the 
hidden foe. 
From time to time a savage in war paint and feathers 
leaped from behind a tree to scalp a victim or seize a horse 
whose rider had been killed. And he in turn was killed 
by the sure aim of some Virginian, firing from the shelter 
of the trees. For the despised Virginians knew the fashion 
of savage warfare, and, like the French and Indians, had 

230 




Retreat of Braddock's Army. 



WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 

scattered through the forest. By keeping their senses 
and fighting, every man for himself, they did much to 
protect the redcoats huddled in the open roadway. 

The English troops were fast becoming panic-stricken. 
All orders were unnoticed. They shot at random. No 
foe was to be seen, and yet the constant firing from the 
thickets increased. 

Washington was everywhere. With flashing eyes and 
determined face, he galloped back and forth in the thickest 
of the fight, repeating the General's orders and shouting 
to the men to keep up their courage. His horse was shot 
under him. In a moment he leaped on another. Soon 
this, too, went down. Four bullets tore through his coat, 
and still he rushed on unwounded. 

At last General Braddock was shot, and fell from his 
horse. The troops broke and ran wildly. On, on they 
tore, leaving Washington and a few officers and provincials 
the task of carrying off the dying General. The defeated 
army returned to Virginia. 

SECOND ATTACK ON FORT DUQUESNE 

The next three years Washington spent in protecting 
the Virginian frontier from Indian raids. He had been 
offered the command of Virginia's troops, and had gladly 
accepted. 

In the fall of 1758 Washington's troops joined in 
another attack on Fort Duquesne. But the reception at 
the fort was very unlike the one given General Braddock. 
Scouts had reported to the French commander the English 
approach. Winter was coming on, and the French line 
of forts had been broken in the North. There was no hope 
of reenforcement or supplies from that direction. The 
whole garrison at the fort was not over five hundred. To 

231 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

wait for the English would mean certain surrender. So, 
when the British troops were within a day's march, the 
French commander blew up his magazine, burned the fort, 
and retreated with his men. 

Imagine the astonishment of the English. A stout 
defense and a brisk battle was what they had expected. 
On the 25th of November, Washington and the advance 
guard marched in and raised the British flag over the 
smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne. 

Now, finally, the Ohio country was secured to the 
English. And no longer responsible for the safety of the 
Virginian frontier, Colonel Washington could honorably re- 
sign his commission. 

The war was not yet ended. Fighting continued in the 
North. It was not until September of the next year that 
Quebec — the last great stronghold of the French — fell, and 
not until 1763 that the treaty was signed which put an 
end to French power in America. 

Summary 

George Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 
1732. — His first official position was Public Surveyor for Cul- 
peper County, Virginia. — He played an important part in the 
French and Indian War. — In 1753 he was sent by Governor 
Dinwiddle on a long and dangerous journey to the commander 
of the French forts on the Ohio to ask the French to withdraw 
from the Ohio country. On their refusal, in 1754, he commanded 
an expedition to drive them out and capture their forts. Wash- 
ington's army was defeated. — In 1755 he served on the staff of 
General Braddock, taking part in the ill-fated attack on Fort 
Duquesne. — For three years he was in command of the Virginia 
troops protecting the Virginia frontier from Indian raids. — In 
1758, he took part in the capture of Fort Duquesne. The French 
and Indian War came to an end in 1763. 

232 



XXIII 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, COMMANDER AND 
PRESIDENT 

COMMANDER IN CHIEF 

In January, 1759, Washington was married to Martha 
Custis, and went to Mount Vernon to live the peaceful life 
of a Virginia plantation owner. 

Then followed the years that saw the Stamp Act 
passed and repealed; the duties on glass, paper, and 
paints imposed and removed; and the trouble over the 
tea tax, which resulted in .the Boston Tea Party. 

When, in 1774, England planned to punish Boston by 
closing her port, it was the Virginia House of Burgesses 
which proposed that a congress of all the colonies be called 
to consider the plight of Massachusetts and the best course 
open to her sister colonies. 

While serving as a member of the House of Burgesses, 
Washington was chosen one of Virginia's representatives 
to this congress, which was to be known as the First Con- 
tinental Congress. It met at Philadelphia on the 5th of 
September, 1774. 

Before the colonial delegates left Philadelphia, they 
agreed to meet again the following spring if their petition 
to the King and their declaration of rights were still un- 
heeded. Both petition and declaration were ignored; so 
in May, 1775, the Second Continental Congress was held. 

By the time the members reached Philadelphia, word 
233 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

of Lexington and Concord had thundered throughout the 
land. The effect was remarkable. Fighting with the 
mother country had actually begun. Was there then no 
other way for the colonies to maintain their rights than by 
taking up arms in defense? It began to look so; and even 
while sending one last petition to their King, begging that 
their wrongs be righted, the Second Continental Congress 
was voting to raise an army. 

Already thousands of colonial soldiers had gathered 
to the siege of Boston. They must be recognized as acting 
not only for New England, but for the whole thirteen 
colonies. They must be organized as the Continental 
Army. They must have a commander, and this at once. 
George Washington was unanimously chosen for the posi- 
tion. It was a great honor, but an even greater respon- 
sibility. 

" I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in 
this room, that I this day declare with the utmost sin- 
cerity I do not think myself equal to the command I am 
honored with," said Washington. 

However, he accepted on condition that he should re- 
ceive no salary, merely being repaid for his actual expense, 
His commission was signed on the 19th of June, and the 
21st saw him already on the road to Boston. 

THE CAMPAIGN BEFORE BOSTON AND AROUND 
NEW YORK 

It was the 2d of July, when Washington reached 
Cambridge, the headquarters of the colonial army. And, 
as he rode within the lines, the English shut up in Boston 
knew, by the soldiers' shouts of welcome, that he had come. 

Next day, while the colonial troops were drawn up on 
the Cambridge common, Washington rode out on horse- 

234 



COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 

back under the now famous elm and took command of 
the army. 

There were fifteen or sixteen thousand soldiers, men 
who knew little about fighting and less about military 
discipline; and Washington had work ahead of him to get 
them into shape and enforce the necessary obedience. 

When March, 1776, came, Washington was ready to 
try what the colonial army could do. One evening he 




Washington Taking Command of the Army at Cambridge, 1775. 



moved troops, artillery, and all that would be needed in 
building fortifications, to Dorchester Heights overlooking 
Boston. 

It was like another Bunker Hill surprise. The next 
morning there were the Americans in a position to fire 
right into the British camp. It was apparent that the 
English General had his choice of leaving the town or of 
being destroyed with it. He chose to leave, and sailed 
away on March 17, 1776. On the 18th, Washington 
marched into Boston in triumph, after his bloodless victory. 

235 



THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

MIDDLE STATES 

r 




COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 

It seemed likely that New York would be the next 
place to be attacked by the English. Therefore Wash- 
ington left part of his troops in Boston and with the rest 
hurried to New York. Here raw recruits joined his force 
until it numbered eighteen thousand. 

Let us leave the army at work building defenses for 
New York and go back to the Continental Congress in 
Philadelphia. You will remember that last petition which 
the Continental Congress sent to England. As usual it 
was received with contempt. The King would do nothing 
for his disobedient colonists. And what was more, to 
end their rebellion, he had hired German troops to go to 
America and do this work for him in short order. 

The colonists were outraged. All thoughts of peace 
were at an end. Daily the break between England and 
her American colonies grew wider, until finally, on the 4th 
of July, 1776, a Declaration of Independence was adopted 
by Congress, and the thirteen English colonies became 
the United States of America. 

When this glorious news reached Washington and his 
men, they had barely time to celebrate before British 
ships entered New York Harbor, and a British army, 
far larger than Washington's, took possession of Staten 
Island. 

Part of Washington's force was stationed on Long 
Island, at Brooklyn Heights just opposite New York. It 
seemed a simple thing to the English Commander, General 
Howe, to defeat these men. And with Brooklyn Heights 
once in his hands, he could take New York from Washing- 
ton as surely and as easily as Washington had taken 
Boston from him. 

However, it was late in August before he put his plan 
to the proof. Twenty thousand trained soldiers Were 
landed on Long Island. But instead of attacking the 
17 237 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Heights. General Howe decided to lay siege and starve 
out this handful of the enemy. 

Before many hours Washington learned of this de- 
cision. Here indeed was danger. If once the British 
ships got between New York and the Heights, all hope of 
escape would be at an end. Soon trusted messengers were 
on their way to New York to collect all the boats, large or 
small, which were to be found. 

The night of the 29th was foggy, and under cover of 
the darkness, the boats were brought to the Brooklyn 
shore. There they were quickly and quietly filled with 
men, small arms, ammunition, supplies, and even cannon, 
all of which were safely landed in New York. Washington 
himself was the last to leave the now deserted fortifications. 

Can you imagine General Howe's amazement the next 
morning? Washington was proving himself a veritable 
will-o'-the-wisp to the British. Where they least expected 
him, there he was; and when they counted him in their 
grasp, he faded away. 

THE RETREAT ACROSS NEW JERSEY 

With English troops on Brooklyn Heights and English 
vessels in New York Harbor, Washington felt that it would 
be asking the impossible to expect his small force to keep 
the English out of New York City. However, he did not 
mean to give up more ground than was absolutely neces- 
sary. Although obliged to retreat, he yielded each step 
only when forced on by the British, who were constantly 
at his heels. 

He crossed to the west bank of the Hudson, and was 
gradually crowded back into New Jersey, until at last he 
reached the Delaware River. 

Here he saw a chance of stopping the English for a 
238 



COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 

while at least. Seizing every boat for miles up and down 
the river, the Americans crossed the Delaware to the 
Pennsylvania side. The English would have followed, 
but there was no means of doing so, and they were obliged 
to camp along the shore until the December weather should 
freeze the river hard and fast. 

While they were waiting, Christmas day came and 




Washington Crossing the Delaware. 



on that night something happened of which the English 
had not dreamed. 

During that December night of 1776, Washington, at 
great peril, recrossed the Delaware. The next morning 
he fell upon the British encampment at Trenton and 
captured a thousand of the King's hired soldiers. Such 
was the battle of Trenton, and great was the rejoicing it 
caused. 

Meanwhile in New York the English General, Corn- 
wallis, was celebrating Christmas and preparing to sail 

239 




The Flag of the 
United Colonies, 
1775-1777. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

back to England. In his opinion, the revolt was about 
over. With the British troops so closely pursuing, this 
upstart American commander must 
surely give up in a very short time. 

Then came news of the battle of 
Trenton with its thousand prisoners 
taken. Cornwallis was amazed. Per- 
haps after all it did need a master hand 
to end this war once and for all. So, 
putting off his sailing, Cornwallis him- 
self hurried to Trenton with eight thou- 
sand soldiers to conquer Washington. 
It was late in the day when he 
reached Trenton. By that time, Washington had with- 
drawn his army across a small river, along whose banks 
he had placed his batteries. 

Tired out from their day's march, the British put off 
their attack overnight. Cornwallis, sure of success, was 
in the best of spirits. " At last we have run down the old 
fox and will bag him in the morning," was his confident 
assertion. 

But, foxlike, Washington was not 
to be run to earth quite so easily. All 
through the night the English sentries 
pacing back and forth watched the 
gleam of Washington's camp fires and 
listened to the thud, thud of falling 
earth as the Americans worked on their 
intrenchments. Little did they suppose 
that only a few men were making all 
that noise and tending all those fires. 
Such was the case, nevertheless. While 
the camp fires blazed and the digging went on, Washing- 
ton and his army were slipping away toward Princeton. 

240 







The First Flag of 
the United States, 
Adopted January, 
1777. 



COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 

Washington had reasoned that in Princeton he would 
find so small an English force left to guard the stores that 
his army could defeat it and capture the supplies. 

About sunrise Princeton was reached, and the battle 
was on. In less than half an hour it was over, and Wash- 
ington had once more come off victorious. This was on 
January 3, 1777. 

From Princeton, Washington took his soldiers to the 
Heights of Morristown, where the English dared not attack 
him. Here he spent the rest of the winter, raising new 
troops and doing what he could to strengthen his army. 
As for Cornwallis, he returned empty-handed to New York. 



THE ENGLISH PLAN AND BURGOYNE'S ADVANCE 

While Washington and his army were encamped in 
the hills about Morristown, the English were laying plans 
which promised quick success. 

Their scheme was to gain control of New York State, 
thus completely separating New England from the other 
colonies. As New England was Washington's chief source 
of men and supplies, such a step would be full of danger 
to him and would surely prove a tremendous stride toward 
final victory for old England. 

The English had good reason to expect this plan to 
succeed. Not only was New York City already in their 
hands, but Canada was theirs as well. They were in a 
position to invade New York State from the north, south, 
or west; and they concluded to attack from all three 
directions. 

One army under General Burgoyne was to enter New 
York State from Canada, by way of Lake Champlain. 
General Howe, with a second army, was to move up the 

241 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Hudson from New York City. Colonel St. Leger, with 
still another army, was to land at Oswego and, conquering 
as he came, march through the Mohawk Valley. With 
their work done, all three armies were to meet at Albany. 
The summer of 1777 saw this plan 
set in motion, and down from the 
North came General Burgoyne with a 
force of nearly eight thousand soldiers 
and Indians. 

The Americans had placed Gen- 
eral Philip Schuyler in command of 
the Northern Department of the 
army, and so it fell to his lot to de- 
fend New York State against the three 
English armies. 

General Burgoyne aimed his first 
blow at Fort Ticonderoga, and cap- 
tured it. This was bad. General 
Schuyler saw that in some way time 
must be gained. If Burgoyne were 
allowed to advance before more 
troops were recruited, the result 
would be disastrous. Something must 
be done to check him, and that at 
once. 

Hurrying to the head of Lake 
Champlain, Schuyler's men fell to 
work with a will. Guns were laid 
aside, and axes took their place. 
Hundreds of trees were chopped down and left to block 
the roads. Bridge after bridge was burned; the streams 
themselves were choked until they overflowed, and all 
the country for twenty miles was laid waste. 

Then, while General Schuyler retreated to Stillwater, 
242 




The English Route 
from Canada. 



COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 

the English tried to advance. But their path was so 
obstructed that a mile a day was the best they could do. 
At last they reached the deserted post of Fort Edward. 

Meanwhile, St. Leger, according to the arrangement, 
sailed up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario and landed at 
Oswego. Then marching east from Oswego, he confidently 
laid siege to the American post of Fort Stanwix, only to be 
driven back the way he had come. 



BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER 

General Burgoyne now found himself in a grave 
predicament. Colonel St. Leger had been defeated and 
had fled. No help had come from General Howe, who 




The Surrender of General Burgoyne. 

had gone off south instead of ascending the Hudson, as 
Burgoyne had fully expected him to do. The Americans 
had sent a force to cut off his retreat, should he attempt 
to return to Canada. Moreover, his orders were positive 
and left him no choice. He was to march through to 
Albany, nothing more nor less. 

243 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Therefore, in the middle of September, Burgoyne left 
Fort Edward and once more began his advance. On the 
19th, he reached Bemis Heights, where he found the Amer- 
ican army encamped. During the morning Burgoyne at- 
tacked the Americans. All afternoon the battle waged 
with fury. Then darkness came to put an end to the 
fighting. Neither side had lost or won. The Americans 
fell back to their fortifications, and the English camped 
on the battlefield. 

Here they stayed for over two weeks, watching each 
other's every move. At last, on October 7th, Burgoyne 
determined to see what another attack would do toward 
opening the way to Albany. 

The Americans came forward to meet their foe. This 
time there was no drawn battle. When night came on 
October 7th, the English had been utterly defeated. 

Burgoyne now fell back to Saratoga. He no longer 
had any hope of reaching Albany. American troops sur- 
rounded him on every side. No supplies were to be had ; 
starvation stared his army in the face, and on October 
17, 1777, General Burgoyne and his army surrendered to 
the Americans. 

IN PENNSYLVANIA 

During the early summer of 1777, General Howe made 
an attempt to reach Philadelphia by an overland march 
from New York. Washington's force was still too small 
to risk meeting the English thousands in open battle. 
However, he so annoyed and worried their commander by 
keeping just out of reach and yet in the way, that General 
Howe gave up and went back. 

Next, General Howe put his troops aboard ship, sailed 
them up Chesapeake Bay to its head, and set out for 
Philadelphia from that point. At Brandywine Creek 

244 



COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 

there was Washington again. He had marched south in 
the hope of once more turning the English away from 
Philadelphia. On September 11th, the armies met in 
battle, and Washington was defeated. 

Soon after, the English entered Philadelphia and took 
possession of the capital of the United States. Nothing 
daunted, Washington decided to try another attack; and 
on the morning of October 4th he appeared at German- 




Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge. 



town, where part of the English were encamped. At first, 
success seemed sure. But a heavy mist soon caused con- 
fusion and misunderstanding, and the Americans were 
once more repulsed. 

Another winter was at hand. It was evident that 
General Howe meant to spend it in Philadelphia. There- 
fore Washington went into camp at Valley Forge, where 
he could keep an eye on his foe. 

This winter at Valley Forge was terrible for both the 
245 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

American army and its General. The cold was intense 
and persistent. The men were poorly clothed and half 
starved. Shoes were a luxury. The soldiers walking bare- 
foot over the ice left bloody tracks behind. Money was 
scarce, and the army unpaid. All night men sat huddled 
around the camp fires. They had even no blankets in 
which to roll themselves. 

Washington did all he could to provide for his troops 
and earned their loyal love and devotion by his constant 
sympathy and his willingness to share in their privations. 
His courage inspired them. 

In his turn Washington found help and comfort in the 
companionship of certain of his brave officers. One of 
these was the Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette was a 
young Frenchman, who not only gave his services to our 
country, but generously used his private fortune to supply 
with clothes and arms the soldiers under his command. 

At last the winter broke; and the spring of 1778 came, 
bringing good news to America. France had recognized 
the United States of America as a nation, and had agreed 
to send us aid in our fight against her old enemy. 

The English general, Clinton, now succeeding General 
Howe, decided to abandon Philadelphia and unite his 
forces in New York. 

He was very anxious to gain control of the Hudson 
River, but strong fortifications at West Point held him in 
check. Then the treachery of one of Washington's officers 
seemed to open a way. This officer was Benedict Arnold. 
During the early part of the Revolution, Arnold gave 
America brave and valiant service. But later he grew 
bitter from lack of promotion; and when his conduct made 
enemies for him, their attacks so stirred up his anger that 
he betrayed both his country and his honor, and offered 
his services to the English. 

246 



COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 

His plan was to ask Washington for the command of 
West Point, and then allow the English to capture it. 
Suspecting nothing, Washington gave Arnold the coveted 
command. The very next month Arnold and Andre, 
General Clinton's young adjutant general, met one dark 
night in a thicket on the river's eastern shore. Here 
Arnold gave Andre maps of the fort, and papers telling 
just what steps the English should take. 

With these papers in his stockings, Andre started back 
to New York on horseback. But halfway to the city he 
was captured. Later he was hanged as a spy. 

As soon as Arnold heard of Andre's capture, he fled 
down the river and joined the English army. This was in 
September, 1780. Years after, he died in England, pray- 
ing God to forgive him for deserting his country. Noth- 
ing came of the plot but soreness of heart to Arnold's 
betrayed commander, and disgrace to the traitor himself. 



YORKTOWN 

During the years 1779 
and 1780 the war for the 
most part was carried on in 
the South. Although Wash- 
ington himself stayed in the 
North, where he could have 
a watchful eye on the Eng- 
lish in New York, he still 
kept in touch with condi- 
tions in the South. 

Back and forth through 
the southern states went Cornwallis and the English 
troops, until, in the summer of 1781, he followed Lafa- 

Then he betook himself and his 
247 




Where the Revolution Ended. 



yette up into Virginia. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

troops to Yorktown, where he and Clinton could be hi 
communication by sea. 

Yorktown is on a cape, three sides of which are sur- 
rounded by Chesapeake Bay. At the first word of his 
enemy's move, Washington was on the alert. Carefully 
going over in his mind the position of his forces, he realized 
that the fleet sent us by France could be placed so as to 




From, a painting by Trumbull in the rotunda of the Capitol 
at Washington, D. C. 

Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va., 
October 19, 1781. 

prevent Cornwallis from escaping by sea. And if his own 
New York troops could possibly be mustered with the 
French soldiers, and those under Lafayette, so as to shut 
Cornwallis into this land pocket, a deadly blow could be 
aimed at England's power. 

It must be done and done at once. Misleading Clinton 
by seemingly preparing an attack on New York, Wash- 
ington slipped away south. 

After a long forced march the soldiers reached Chesa- 
peake Bay and went by ship to Yorktown. There wag 

248 



COMMANDER AND PRESIDENT 



the French fleet, and there was Cornwallis ready to be 
shut in exactly as Washington had foreseen. For days 
the English held out against Washington's attack. But 
no help came to them; and at last, on October 19, 1781, 
Cornwallis was obliged to surrender. To the tune of 
"The World Turned Upside Down" the British marched 
out of Yorktown between the two long lines of Washing- 
ton's victorious army. And the American Revolution was 
practically at an end. 

A few years later the United States adopted their 
Constitution and set up their government. Then through 
loving gratitude and just appreciation of his value, they 
chose as their first President, the loyal commander of the 
army which had won their independence. 




President and Mrs. Washington. 

Washington was President of the United States for 
two terms. At the close of this service, he went back to 
Virginia to the happy home life awaiting him. For a 
little while he gathered up the reins of control on his 
plantations, but they soon slipped from his fingers forever. 

249 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

December 14, 1799, was a day of grief for the entire 
country — grief which spread in every direction with the 
news that, at Mount Vernon, George Washington lay dead. 



Summary 

The First Continental Congress was held at Philadelphia; 
September 5, 1774. George Washington was a delegate. A 
petition and a declaration of colonial rights were sent to the 
King of England. Both were ignored. — In May, 1775, the 
Second Continental Congress sent a last petition to the king and 
voted to raise an army. Washington was chosen commander in 
chief. — In 1776 he fortified Dorchester Heights and forced the 
British to leave Boston. — July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies 
adopted the Declaration of Independence and declared them- 
selves the United States of America. — Later in 1776 the British 
drove Washington out of New York and forced him to retreat 
across New Jersey. — Washington next defeated the British at 
Trenton and Princeton. — In 1777 the British planned to cut off 
New England from the other colonies. The defeat of Burgoyne 
at Saratoga prevented this. — After defeating the American army 
at Brandywine Creek in 1777 the British captured Philadelphia, 
the national capital. — In 1778 France recognized the United 
States as an independent nation and sent us aid. — During 1779 
and 1780 the war was carried on mostly in the South. — In 1781 
the English General Cornwallis withdrew to Yorktown. Wash- 
ington promptly gathered the American troops at Yorktown 
and besieged the British. The British army surrendered to 
Washington October 19, 1781. This ended the American 
Revolution. — In 1783 the Treaty of Peace was signed at Paris. — 
When the United States adopted their Constitution, Washington 
was made the first President of the United States, serving from 
1789 to 1797.— In 1799 he died at his home, Mt. Vernon. 



XXIV 



NATHANAEL GREENE 



HIS EARLY LIFE 



Nathanael Greene had a busy, happy boyhood. His 
home was in a little Rhode Island town. His Quaker 
father was a preacher and a miller, and an anchorsmith as 
well. 

The children were taught to read that they might read 
the Bible, and taught to write and cipher as a help in 
business. 

Theirs was a simple,, 
healthy life with work 
and play all mixed to- 
gether. 

Well content with 
such a life, Nathanael 
Greene reached the age 
of fourteen. But now a 
chance acquaintance, 
talking of college, showed 
him how meager his 
learning was ; and he be- 
gan to think and won- 
der about things that he 
had never considered be- 
fore. 

At last he asked his father for more schooling. A new 
master. was arranged for, and under his guidance Nathanael 

251 




A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

laid the foundation for a good general education. Thus 
the boy came to early manhood, in the years when his 
country needed the help of every strong arm and active 
brain at her command. 

Soon came the stirring times of the tea tax, the Boston 
Tea Party, and the closing of Boston's port. And in 
1774 Nathanael Greene had a hand in organizing a military 
company, which was called the Kentish Guards. Greene 
joined the company as a private. But as he was a soldier 
without a gun, he resolved to go to Boston and get one. 

Even for an enemy there was a certain fascination in 
the well-trained British redcoats. And while in Boston, 
Greene went both morning and evening to see the regu- 
lars drill. Strong, vigorous, broad-shouldered and full- 
chested was this Rhode Island recruit, whose keen eyes 
watched every move, from under his wide-brimmed Quaker 
hat. 

What he saw must have pleased him well, for before 
he left Boston he had engaged a British deserter to go 
back with him to drill the Kentish Guards. Having 
bought his musket, he was in doubt as to how he could 
take it out of Boston. At last a farmer agreed to hide it 
under the straw in his wagon. And following the wagon 
at a safe distance, Greene set out for home. 



IN WASHINGTON'S ARMY 

In April, 1775, a messenger rushed into Providence 
with the news of Lexington and Concord. A few days 
later the Rhode Island Assembly voted to raise an army 
of fifteen hundred men, and Nathanael Greene was chosen 
brigadier general and placed in command of the fifteen 
hundred. In clue time he led them to join the American 
forces ; and so it was that Greene was already in the army 

252 



NATHANAEL GREENE 

that waited before Boston to welcome Washington, when 
he came to be its chief. 

Washington was quick to see Greene's sterling quali- 
ties, and a close and lasting friendship grew up between 
the two. In the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandy- 
wine, and Germantown, Greene led a division of Wash- 
ington's army. And while at Valley Forge, he accepted 
the position of quartermaster general, to please Wash- 
ington. Thus the commander in chief came to know his 
friend's value both in the camp and on the field of battle. 
Was it not natural, then, that, when the English turned 
their attention to the south, Washington's choice for 
commander of the southern department was Nathanael 
Greene? But Congress did not see with Washington's 
farsighted eyes. 

In carrying the war to the South, the English reasoned 
somewhat in the following way: We have not been very 
successful so far. These northern colonies are surely 
strong in their rebellion. However, the South does not 
seem equally determined. Would it not be our wisest plan, 
therefore, to subdue the southern colonies first? Then, 
if worst comes to worst, and we are obliged to make terms 
with the North, at least we shall still have a foothold in 
the colonies. 

The conquering of the South was to begin with Georgia. 
In December, 1778, an expedition attacked Savannah; 
and with three men to our one the British found the city 
an easy prey. A few more minor victories followed, and 
the English soon claimed Georgia as their own. 

Till the end of 1779 the conditions were practically 
unchanged. But early in 1780, the English reopened 
their southern campaign with vigor. This time South 
Carolina was attacked; and a mighty army advanced 
against Charleston, and completely surrounded it. It 
18 253 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

would have been a waste of life for the American force, 
gathered to protect the city, to have risked battle with 
such an army. Even the citizens of Charleston petitioned 
that terms be made with the British. They were accord- 
ingly made, and the city surrendered. The English at 
once sent detachments to take possession of Camden, and 
other points throughout the State. 




The Siege of Charleston. 

At this time Congress put Gates in command of what 
was left of the southern army, even though Washington 
had recommended Greene. Gates had dreams of promptly 
defeating the English. He determined to surprise them 
at Camden before Lord Cornwallis could reach there. 

But Lord Cornwallis reached Camden first, prepared a 
warm welcome for Gates, and even advanced to meet him. 
When the battle began, the English came on with such a 
rush that the Virginia troops threw down their loaded 

254 



NATHANAEL GREENE 

guns and took to their heels. Seeing them disappear, 
others did the same; and the troops that did stand their 
ground were soon routed. Nor was General Gates left 
behind in the headlong flight. Deserting his artillery, his 
baggage, and his few stanch followers, he covered sixty 
miles before night. 

Although the Americans won a brilliant victory at 
King's Mountain in October, the disaster at Camden had 
convinced Congress that, after all, General Gates was not 
much of a success as a commander. 

Washington was now asked to suggest some one to take 
the place of Gates. Thoroughly convinced that Nathanael 
Greene was the man of all men, Washington again un- 
hesitatingly recommended him. 



IN THE SOUTH 

In December, 1780, General Greene arrived in North 
Carolina and took command of the American forces. 

These forces were so small that Greene himself said 
they seemed but "the shadow of an army." And they 
were a disheartened, discouraged, unpaid, and poorly fed 
shadow at that. Still the man who had come to com- 
mand them was the best general the Americans had, 
Washington alone excepted. His very presence soon in- 
spired his forlorn troops, and they took heart once more. 

Before he had been long in the camp, General Greene 
sent part of his men, under Morgan, to threaten the 
English in the northern part of South Carolina. Then 
General Cornwallis, in his turn, sent out a detachment to 
drive Morgan back. Morgan heard that the English were 
coming, and he waited for them at Cowpens. 

Here, on the 17th of January, 1781, he was attacked by 
the British. But so well had he planned his defense, and 

255 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

so bravely did his men do their part, that the English were 
terribly and utterly defeated. 

Cornwallis was astonished. More determined than 
ever that Morgan should be crushed, he hurried against 
him before Greene could come to his aid. However, 
Morgan did not intend to be crushed, and started north 
before Cornwallis could reach him. 

Here was General Greene's chance. His army was 
far too small to risk meeting the English in open battle. 
He must find some other way of getting the best of them. 
And what other way could be better than to tire them out 
by leading them a long, merry chase, all the time coaxing 
them farther and farther from their base of supplies? 

With all speed, therefore, he hastened to join Morgan; 
and together they retreated, while Cornwallis followed in 
hot pursuit. Across the State of North Carolina went the 
Americans; and a few hours behind them came the British. 
Realizing that more than one river lay in his path, Greene 
had wisely ordered boats to be mounted on light wheels 
and taken along on the retreat. When a river was reached, 
it was an easy matter to put the wheels into the boats 
and carry the army safely to the opposite shore. 

At last Greene and his men came to the Dan River, 
which was too deep for Cornwallis and his men to ford. 
Once in Virginia, General Greene received reinforcements 
until he felt his army could hold its own with the English. 
Then he went back into North Carolina once more, bent 
on battle with his enemy. 

Cornwallis, too, was willing and anxious to meet the 
Americans. And on March 15th the two armies came 
together at Guilford Court House. It was a furious 
and bloody battle. General Greene was defeated. But 
though the English loudly boasted of their victory, they 
had paid dearly for it. So heavy had been Cornwailis's 

256 



NATHANAEL GREENE 

losses that he dared not stay where he was. He re- 
treated therefore nearly as fast as he had come, and made 
his way to Wilmington on the shore of North Carolina^ 
From Wilmington,. Cornwallis marched into Virginia. 







Touching Off the First Gun at the Siege of Yorktown. 

Meanwhile, General Greene had begun his campaign to 
retake South Carolina and Georgia. It was no simple 
matter; but by patient, tireless effort, he at last won back 
the conquered southern states. 

257 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

In marching into Virginia, Cornwallis was unconscious- 
ly marching toward his surrender. Finally he went to 
Yorktown. Washington came and shut him in, and the 
Revolution was over. 

Soon after its close, the State of Georgia gave General 
Greene a plantation; and to this Georgia plantation he 
moved with his family. But his pleasure in his new home 
was to be short. In June, 1786, he died of sunstroke, at 
the age of forty-four. 

His boyhood in the forge, the mill, and the field, had 
given him strength. His efforts to become a scholar had 
broadened his mind. Vast common sense and good tact 
were his by nature. A lasting patriotism came to him 
from seeing his country oppressed. These were what he 
had to give America, and he gave them with all his heart 
and all his energy. Great is the honor due Nathanael 
Greene. 

Summary 

NathanaGi Greene of Rhode Island was the ablest of Wash- 
ington's generals.— He led a division of the army under Wash- 
ington in the campaigns of 1776-1778.— Carrying the war to the 
South, the English conquered Georgia and South Carolina. — 
In 1780, Nathanael Greene was put in command of the southern 
army.— With General Morgan he retook South Carolina and 
Georgia from the British and drove Cornwallis 's army into 
Virginia, making it possible for Washington to end the war- 



XXV 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON 

STEPS TO FAME 

Alexander Hamilton was born in 1757 on the little 
island of Nevis in the West Indies, and there he spent his 
childhood. When he was fifteen years old he was sent to 
New York to continue his 
studies. 

At the time Hamilton 
entered King's College, 
now Columbia University, 
the colonies were on the 
eve of their struggle for 
liberty. Excitement was 
running high among old 
and young. 

On July 6, 1774, he was 
present at a great meeting 
held by the patriots in New 
York to favor the First 
Continental Congress. 
Young, impulsive, thor- 
oughly interested, he lis- 
tened to the cautious lukewarm speeches. Finally he 
could stand it no longer and, stepping to the platform, 
began to address the meeting himself. The impression 
made by this boy orator of seventeen was great and deep. 

259 




Alexander Hamilton. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

His eloquence struck his hearers with surprise, and from 
that hour he was important to the cause of liberty. 

Once aroused, Hamilton's keen interest in the fight for 
independence never lagged. During the campaign around 
New York he acted as captain of a company of artillery, 
which he had trained so well that it attracted general notice. 
He had a share in the victories of Trenton and Princeton, 
although by that time his company was reduced to a mere 
handful of men. And at Yorktown he headed the assault 
on one of the British outworks and gallantly captured it. 

Early in the war, Washington was attracted by the 
young soldier; and in March, 1777, he appointed Hamilton 
his aide, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. His duties, 
as aide, were to take charge of the correspondence of the 
commander in chief, to prepare and draw up his orders, 
proclamations, and other important papers. There can 
be no doubt that this discipline was of immense value to 
Hamilton. It developed him and gave him a grasp of 
national affairs. And best of all, for four years it kept 
him in intimate touch with Washington and cemented the 
friendship between them. 

DEPRECIATION OF THE CURRENCY 

The affairs of the Government, after the close of the 
war, were in a disheartening condition. The soldiers were 
unpaid. Congress had no power to raise money by taxa- 
tion, had not even the power to protect the lives and 
property of the citizens. Commerce was at a low ebb. 
The states, jealous of each other, fell to quarreling and 
bickering. 

The only way in which Congress was allowed to raise 
money for its many debts was by making requisitions on 
the states. These requisitions were paid grudgingly by 

260 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON 

some of the states; by others not at all. And Congress 
had no power to enforce payment. 

The distress of the country was great. Almost every 
one was in debt. Between 1775 and 1780 the Continental 
Congress had issued paper money to the amount of about 
$200,000,000. But it is not enough merely to print paper 
and call it money. People will not accept it as money at 




Continental Bills. 

its face value unless it represents gold or silver — some- 
thing of value which can be had in exchange for this printed 
paper. Because there was no gold or silver behind the 
paper money of Congress, it rapidly fell in value until, in 
1780, a man had to pay forty dollars in paper money for 
what would cost one dollar in gold or silver. And later 
in the South it cost one thousand of Congress's paper 
dollars to buy one gold dollar's worth of goods. This 

261 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

depreciated paper money gave rise to the expression " not 
worth a continental. " 

Besides the worthless paper money issued by Congress, 
there was also the paper money issued by most of the 
states. This added to the confusion. As there was no 
Government mint, practically the only coins in use, besides 
a few pennies, were foreign coins. It was not always easy 
to be sure what these foreign coins were worth, and any 
moderately cautious man had to keep at hand a small pair 
of scales with which to weigh the gold or silver. 

Therefore much of the trading was done by exchange. 
That is to say, if a farmer bought a suit of clothes, he would 
probably pay for it in flour or some other product of his 
farm. Thus we read of an editor of a paper offering to 
take subscriptions for his paper in salt pork. 

With all these complications, the country was rapidly 
going from bad to worse. So a convention was called at 
Annapolis, in 1786, to consider the question of setting up 
a uniform financial system. Alexander Hamilton was 
sent to represent New York. The convention did little. 
But from it originated the idea of calling all the states 
together in another convention to reorganize the govern- 
ment of the country. 

THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND FINANCIAL REFORM 

New York appointed as her delegates to the proposed 
Federal Convention, John Lansing, Robert Yates, and 
Alexander Hamilton. The first two were bitterly opposed 
to the idea of giving great power to a National governing 
body. They feared that the importance of the State of 
New York might be lessened. Hamilton, with a broader 
view, was earnestly in favor of any movement to strengthen 
the Central Government. 

262 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON 

The convention met at Philadelphia in May, 1787. 
Hamilton did his utmost to show up the dangers of the 
system of government under which they were living, and 
used his influence to have measures adopted that would 
remedy these evils. To his delight it was decided to draw 
up a new Constitution which would give greater power to 
Congress, would regulate the- rights of the states, and 
would provide a president to see that the laws were carried 
out. The various articles of the Constitution were finally 
agreed upon and were signed by the majority of the dele- 
gates, ready for the states to ratify. 

When a convention met in New York to decide whether 
that state should accept the Constitution, Hamilton was 
put to his wits' ends. Forty-six of the delegates out of 
sixty-five were bitterly opposed to the ratification. But 
by arguments so strong that they convinced enough of his 
opponents, he won a majority, and the ratification was 
approved. It was a great triumph for Hamilton. Eleven 
states having accepted the Constitution, it went into effect 
in 1789. 

Washington was unanimously elected to act as the 
first President under the new Constitution. His inaugura- 
tion was to be held in New York, and great preparations 
for the event were made in that city. Washington reached 
New York from Mount Vernon on April 23d. On his 
journey he received a constant ovation from a loyal and 
enthusiastic people. From New Jersey he was rowed to 
New York in a gorgeous barge, manned by thirteen mas- 
ters of vessels, dressed in white uniforms. Every vessel 
in the harbor was gay in holiday attire. On April 30, 
1789, at the old Federal Building in Wall Street, George 
Washington took the oath of office as the first President 
of the United States. 

When President Washington chose his cabinet, he made 
263 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Hamilton his Secretary of the Treasury. With the coun- 
try deeply in debt, with no money in the treasury, and 
with the endless number of important questions that must 




From an old print. 

Washington Taking the Oath of Office, as the First 

President, at Federal Hall on Wall Street, now 

the Sub-Treasury Building. 



be decided before the new government could be placed on 
a sound financial basis, Hamilton had a stupendous task 
before him. He bent all his great ability to the straighten- 
ing out of America's tangled financial condition. Where 

264 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON 

others would have ended with dismal failure, Hamilton 
succeeded. 

As the result of his work he brought out a series of finan- 
cial measures which quickly and firmly established the 
credit of the country. He advocated the payment in full 
with interest of the enormous National debt and the debts 
of the states. He established methods of taxation; he 
provided for the establishment of a National Bank and a 
Mint. All of these measures and many more besides, un- 




First Money Coined by Congress. 

der his leadership, were adopted by Congress, though not 
without bitter controversies. 

After Hamilton had rendered this valuable service to the 
country he retired from public office, and again took up the 
practice of law which he had begun years before. This was 
in 1795. 



THE DUEL AND HAMILTON'S DEATH 

Hamilton was worshiped by his friends and hated by 
his enemies. He never ceased to take an active interest 
in the politics of the time; and it was largely through his 
efforts that Thomas Jefferson, and not Aaron Burr, was 

265 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

elected President in 1800. Then four years later, Hamil- 
ton prevented Burr from being elected governor of New 
York. Whereupon Burr became Hamilton's bitter enemy, 
and determined to kill him. So, claiming that Hamilton 
had defamed him, he picked a quarrel with the New York 
lawyer and challenged him to a duel. 

According to the code of honor of those days, Hamilton 
could not well refuse to accept the challenge, although he 
did not believe in dueling. Weehawken, in New Jersey, 
was chosen as the place for the fight. Arrangements were 
made; and on the morning of July 11, 1804, the two 
statesmen and their seconds were rowed to the Jersey 
shore. Pistols were to be the weapons. The principals 
took their places. The signal to fire was given. Hamilton 
did not even attempt to shoot Burr. But, in his hatred, 
Burr took calm and deliberate aim. His bullet struck 
Hamilton in the body, and he fell. He had received 
a fatal wound; and although he lived to be taken 
home, before many hours he died. He had barely 
passed the prime of life, for he was but forty-seven years 
old. 

The grief for his loss was deep. Burr was indicted for 
murder and was compelled to flee. The misfortunes that 
came to him in his after life must have seemed sufficient 
penalty for his revenge. Disliked, suspected, with the 
stain of Hamilton's death on his reputation, this bril- 
liant man died in misery and poverty thirty-two years 
later. 

Hamilton was buried in New York in Trinity church- 
yard, at the head of Wall Street. His tomb of white 
marble, now yellow with age, is surrounded by stately 
buildings. He lies near one of the great financial centers 
of the world — a center which his genius did much to 
create. 

266 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON 

Perhaps the love and admiration of his countrymen is 
best told in the epitaph on his tomb. It reads in part: 

The Patriot of incorruptible Integrity 
The Soldier of approved Valour 
The Statesman of consummate Wisdom 
Whose Talents and Virtues will be admired 
By 
Grateful Posterity 
Long after this MARBLE shall have mouldered into 
DUST. 



Summary 

Alexander Hamilton was born in the West Indies in 1757. — 
Coming to America at fifteen he sided with the colonists in their 
struggle for liberty. — During the Revolution he served as Wash- 
ington's aide. — At the close of the war the country was in great 
financial distress. — In 1787 a Federal Convention met at Phila- 
delphia to reorganize the Government. Here the Constitution 
was made, providing for a strong central government to bind 
together the different states. Hamilton represented New York 
at this convention. — George Washington, the first President of 
the United States, appointed Alexander Hamilton Secretary 
of the Treasury. — It was Hamilton's problem to plan a way by 
which the country could pay its debts, could collect revenue 
with which to run the Government, and could make its credit 
respected by foreign nations. To do this, Hamilton advocated 
the payment of the national debt with interest, established a 
system of taxation, and provided for the establishment of a 
National Bank and a Mint. 



XXVI 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 

AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

On that day when Patrick Henry offered his resolu- 
tions against the Stamp Act, he had other hearers besides 
the members of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Near 

the door stood a tall, gawky 
young man with sandy hair, 
freckled face, and large hands 
and feet. He was Thomas 
Jefferson, who was later to 
write America's Declaration 
of Independence. 

Jefferson was the son of 
a well-to-do Virginia planter. 
In 1760, when seventeen 
years old, he came to Will- 
iamsburg and entered Will- 
iam and Mary College. After- 
wards he took up the study 
and practice of law, at which 
he proved himself a great 
success. 

When, early in 1775, the 
House of Burgesses met at Richmond, Jefferson was a 
member. Here he heard Patrick Henry's second stirring 
speech — the speech denouncing all efforts at peace and 

268 







THOMAS JEFFERSON 

for himself choosing liberty or death. Jefferson was thrilled 
by Henry's eloquence and heartily approved his motion 
that Virginia " be immediately put into a state of defense." 

Later in that same year Jefferson was sent to represent 
Virginia at the Continental Congress, which met in Phil- 
adelphia. 

The crisis had come. England had thoroughly roused 
the blood of her American colonists. Fighting had begun, 



rff; 









Signing of the Declaration of Independence. 



and dependence on England was no longer to be endured. 
It was time for America to declare her rights and claim her 
freedom. So in June, 1776, John Adams, Benjamin Frank- 
lin, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and Thomas 
Jefferson were appointed to draw up a declaration of the 
colonies' independence. 

Thanks to Jefferson's early training, he had developed 
into a powerful writer; and it now fell to his lot to draft 
this all-important paper. He worked on it for three weeks. 
By the end of June it was ready, and Jefferson submitted 
it to the Continental Congress. 



19 



269 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Congress spent a few days in going over it, making 
changes here and there. As a whole, they were well 
pleased with Thomas Jefferson's work; and on July 4, 
1776, the Declaration of Independence was formally 
adopted. The first to sign it was John Hancock, the Pres- 
ident of Congress. He wrote his name in a clear, bold 
hand and, as he put down the pen, exclaimed, "There, 

John Bull can read that with- 
out spectacles!" 

Meanwhile, about the 
State House throngs packed 
the streets. Would Congress 
adopt the Declaration? If so, 
the old State House bell was 
to announce the fact. While 
the anxious crowd watched 
and listened, up in the build- 
ing a small boy waited for a 
signal from the doorkeeper. 
At last it came. Away to the 
old bell ringer rushed the boy 
shouting, "Ring! ring! ring!" 
And in an instant the great bell 
pealed out the joyous news. 
The excitement was intense. Cheer rose after cheer; 
and there were hand shakings and shouting, and even 
tears of joy. Then a copy of the Declaration was sent 
to each colony. And everywhere by fireworks, cannon 
firing, and flag flying the American people proclaimed 
their new-born freedom. 

It was the 4th of July, 1776, when this greatest, this 
most prized blessing — independence — became the pos- 
session of America. That day marked the founding of the 
American nation. And on each 4th of July, we, the 

270 




The Liberty Bell, as it Looks 
To-Day. 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 

American people, still proclaim our undying love of inde- 
pendence by patriotic speeches, cannon firing, and flag 
flying. 

PRESIDENT 

Two months after the adoption of his Declaration of 
Independence, Jefferson resigned from Congress and went 
home to Virginia. 

Here for two years he served as Governor of Virginia. 
Then for five years he was abroad as envoy to France. 




The State House in Philadelphia Where the Declaration of 
Independence was Signed. 



On his return to America he was appointed Secretary of 
State under President Washington. And later, so well 
had the American people come to know his value, he was 
elected the third President of the United States. 

Jefferson was the first President to take the oath of 
office in the city of Washington, the new capital of the 

271 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



country, named for George Washington and founded on 
a site of his choice. At the time, Washington was a city 
of but a few thousands, and the Capitol was an unpreten- 
tious building. 

This fact must have well suited Thomas Jefferson. 
Both Washington and John Adams, Washington's suc- 
cessor, had felt that the President of the United States 







Map Showing the Territory of the United States Before 
and After the Louisiana Purchase. 

should stand a little apart from the people. They had 
kept up a dignity and formality befitting their idea. All 
this was very unlike Jefferson. He believed in " Republi- 
can simplicity " ; believed that all men are equal, and that 
the President should be always ready to exchange a 
friendly hand shake with any one. On the day of his in- 
auguration, dressed in his everyday clothes, he went on 
foot to the Capitol. 

Thomas Jefferson was President for eight years. One 
272 



THOMAS JEFFERSON 

of the wisest things he did while in office was to buy from 
France the land known as Louisiana. This was not 
merely the present state of Louisiana; it was a great 
stretch of land containing nearly nine hundred thousand 
square miles, lying between the Mississippi River and the 
Rocky Mountains, and between Canada and the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

All this Jefferson got from Napoleon Bonaparte, at a 
veritable bargain. At the time, Napoleon was in sore need 
of money; so he was glad to sell Louisiana to America for 
fifteen millions of dollars — less than three cents an acre. 

Now that Louisiana was the property of the United 
States, Jefferson wanted to know what it was like. Few, 
if any, Americans had ever crossed that part of the coun- 
try; so no one could tell him. Accordingly he sent out 
an expedition under two young men named Lewis and 
Clark. They started from the log-cabin village of St. 
Louis and went by boat up the Missouri River to the 
Rocky Mountains. 

They were away nearly two years and a half. When 
they came back they brought tales of adventure and de- 
scriptions of the natural- wealth and beauty of Louisiana, 
and a carefully made map of their trail. 

In 1809 President Jefferson's term ended, and he went 
back to Monticello — his beautiful home near Chariot te- 
ville — to live with his daughter in a house full of rollicking 
grandchildren. 

But he did not lose his keen interest in the welfare of 
Virginia. He had long wanted to see a new university 
in his State, and during these peaceful years at home he 
himself founded the University of Virginia. 

Jefferson lived until 1826. It is a strange coincidence 
that his death should have occurred on the 4th of July, 
the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration 

273 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

of Independence. His body was laid in the family ceme- 
tery at Monticello, and on the stone which marked his 
grave were written the words, "Here was buried Thomas 
Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence." 



Summary 

Thomas Jefferson of Virginia was the author of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, which was adopted by the Continental 
Congress, July 4, 1776. — Jefferson served as Governor of Virginia, 
as envoy to France, as Secretary of State under President Wash- 
ington, and as the third President of the United States. — He was 
inaugurated in 1801, at Washington, and held the office for two 
terms. — While. Jefferson was President, the United States pur- 
chased from France the great western tract called Louisiana. — 
Lewis and Clark were commissioned to explore, and report on, 
the Louisiana lands. They mapped out the valley of the Missouri 
to the Rocky Mountains. — Jefferson founded the University of 
Virginia. — He died at his home in Monticello, Virginia, in 1826. 
on the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 



XXVII 

DANIEL BOONE 

THE YOUNG HUNTER 

When white men first came to America they planted 
their settlements here and there along the Atlantic coast 
For many years the great unbroken forest, extending 
westward from these settlements, deterred the early 
colonists from pushing their way into the wilderness. 

However, a few, bolder than the rest, and with a stronger 
love for adventure, did penetrate some little way into the 
unexplored country. And then there came a pioneer 
whose energy and fortitude helped to set the pace for the 
great migrations west. This was Daniel Boone. 

Boone was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 
1735, and when still a boy went with the rest of the family 
to build a new home on the banks of the Yadkin River in 
North Carolina. Here he went to school for a short time 
and studied the " three R's." His spelling was original — 
what one might expect of a boy who spent nearly ail his 
time in the fields and the woods. 

Boone was a hunter born, and passionately loved the 
forest. In its depths he learned to track the deer and 
the elk; to imitate the calls of the birds, and to seek out 
the hiding places of the panther, bear, and wolf. He grew 
up to be a strong, lithe, sinewy man with muscles of iron. 

It twenty-five Boone started out to explore. He 
275 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

pushed his way as far west as Boone's Creek, a branch 
of the Watauga River in eastern Tennessee. Here still 
stands a birch tree on which can be seen the words he 
carved: "D Boon cilled A BAR on this tree year 1760." 
These early explorations only made Boone long for 
more. He wanted to find the great hunting grounds of 
the far interior, the land we now know as Kentucky. To 
the Indians this meant "The Dark and Bloody Ground." 



SCALE OF MILES 





St.Joseph 

PENNSYLVANIA^ 

ttBburgs.\/ ^ 

•/>c ^- J 

^odsbu rs l^za nrous w i R;GXfe§r- 



WtashWough f i" ; 






Pioneer Settlements on the Western Frontier. 



Although the region was fair to look upon, the savages 
were not far wrong when they gave it such a name. This 
blue-grass country lay midway between the northern and 
southern Indians. No one tribe owned it, but all used 
it as their hunting grounds and were jealous of any one 
else who came there. 

At last Boone decided to visit the Bloody Ground, and 
on May 1, 1769, set out accompanied by five other men. 
After a long and tedious journey of five weeks, the ex- 

276 



DANIEL BOONE 

plorers saw before them a beautiful level region which they 
knew to be the land they were seeking. 

Boone and his companions built a rude shelter of logs, 
open on one side. Here they lived, and in the country 
around they hunted until December without being mo- 
lested by Indians. Then one day they were attacked, and 
Boone was captured. For days there was no chance of 
escape. But at last he succeeded in creeping stealthily 
away by night. A year from the next spring Boone re- 
turned to North Carolina. 



THE WILDERNESS ROAD AND BOONESBOROUGH 

Some time after, a certain Richard Henderson con- 
cluded a treaty with the Cherokees by which they agreed 
to allow white men to settle on the Bloody Ground. When 
the treaty was concluded, Henderson sent Boone with a 
company of thirty men to open a pathway from the Hols- 
ton River, over the Cumberland Gap, to the Kentucky 
River. This was the first regular path into the wilderness, 
and it is still called, "The Wilderness Road." 

When Boone's party reached the Kentucky they built 
a fort which they called Boonesborough. The fort was 
oblong in shape. There was a loopholed blockhouse at 
each corner. The log cabins were so arranged that their 
outer sides formed part of the wail, with a stockade twelve 
feet high filling the spaces between. This stockade was 
made by driving into the ground heavy timbers, pointed 
at the top. 

The building of Boonesborough at this time was most 
important, as it offered protection for the settling of 
Kentucky. 

After building the fort, Boone went back to North 
Carolina. When he returned to Boonesborough a little 

277 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



later, he brought with him his family and a band of 
settlers. 

Not long after this, Boone's daughter and two girl 
companions were surprised by Indians and taken captive. 
As they went along, the eldest girl broke off twigs and 
dropped them in the path. Seeing her, one of the Indians 




Daniel Boone Bringing His Family and the New Settlers Over 
the Wilderness Road. 

threatened her with his tomahawk. However, she man- 
aged to tear off bits of her dress instead and, unnoticed, 
scatter them along the trail. 

When the girls did not return to their home, Boone 
knew at once what had happened. With some neighbors 
he started in pursuit. Guided by the twigs and bits of 
cloth they overtook the savages just as they were cooking 

278 



DANIEL BOONE 

supper. Firing into the camp, they killed two of the 
Indians and frightened the rest away. The girls were un- 
harmed, although badly scared. 

At another time the Indians captured Boone himself 
and carried him off. But because they so admired his 
courage and skill, they decided to adopt him into their 
tribe in place of killing him. Accordingly he was made to 
go through some curious ceremonies. First, all his hair 
was taken off, with the exception of a tuft on the top of his 
head. Next, he was ducked in the river and scrubbed 
well in order to wash out his white blood. With a coat of 
paint on his face, with feathers in his scalp lock, and 
dressed in Indian costume, Boone certainly resembled his 
adopted brothers. 

Although they treated him as one of themselves and 
seemingly gave him the utmost freedom, the Indians were 
ever watchful lest he should get away. Cunning and 
sagacious as the Indians were, Boone was a match for 
them. Apparently he was quite contented. One day he 
learned that his savage friends were planning an attack on 
Boonesborough. Then by great good luck he managed to 
escape. He had a hundred and sixty miles to cover and 
food enough for but one meal. He did not dare shoot 
game for fear the savages would hear him. Four days he 
traveled, almost without stopping. On the fifth day he 
arrived in safety at the fort. 

The settlers immediately prepared the defenses; and 
when the Indians came to make their attack, they were 
repulsed and Boonesborough was saved. 

For many years Boone continued to be a useful 
citizen of Kentucky. But in due time, Kentucky be- 
came too crowded to suit him. He needed more room. 
So, toward the close of the eighteenth century he went 
farther west and finally reached Missouri. This State 

279 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

was then the outpost of civilization. Here he lived until 
his death. 

Daniel Boone was a typical backwoodsman. In his 
life and character we have a good picture of the western 
frontiersmen of the eighteenth century, men whose cour- 
age and perseverance opened the way to civilization. 



Summary 

The first great pioneer to cross the Alleghany Mountains 
and settle in Kentucky was Daniel Boone. — In 1769 he set out 
to explore the Indian hunting grounds of Kentucky. — Later he 
opened up a road for emigrants through the forests from North 
Carolina into Kentucky. It was called the "Wilderness Road/' 
— Boone with others built a fort at Boonesborough, Kentucky, 
and settled there. This fort, by protecting the settlers from 
Indian raids, greatly helped the growth of that part of the 
country. 



XXVIII 
ELI WHITNEY AND ROBERT FULTON 

ELI WHITNEY 

Few men have done more for the welfare of mankind 
than did Eli Whitney. He did not discover a new land, 
nor did he explore the untrodden wilderness or win a great 
battle. He invented a machine 
which revolutionized the cotton 
industry. 

Eli Whitney was a native of 
Massachusetts. At nineteen he 
made up his mind to go to col- 
lege. As his father did not see fit 
to send him, he earned the nec- 
essary money himself. Partly 
by teaching and partly by odd 
jobs at carpentry, he- gathered 
enough to pay his way through 
Yale University. In 1792 he 
was graduated. 

Soon after, Whitney secured a position as tutor in a 
Georgia family. But when he reached the South, he 
found the place filled. So he decided to study law. On 
the trip south he had become acquainted with Mrs. 
Greene, the widow of General Nathanael Greene, of Revo- 
lutionary fame. Hearing of his disappointment, Mrs. 
Greene now cordially invited him to make her plantation 
his home while he was studying law. 

Whitney did many little things for his hostess to show 
281 




CC^^^n^c/ 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

that he appreciated her kindness. He made toys for the 
children and an embroidery frame for Mrs. Greene, which 
was an immense improvement over the awkward old- 
fashioned one she had been using. In fact, he had what 
has long been known as "Yankee ingenuity." 

One day Mrs. Greene had as guests a number of planta- 
tion owners. They were speaking about the raising of 
cotton, and of how the value of the crop would be vastly 
increased if only some one could invent a machine that 
would strip the seeds from the cotton fiber. Mrs. Greene 
advised the men to lay the problem before her young 
friend, Eli Whitney. They explained the matter to him; 
but as he had not even seen the cotton fiber and its seeds, 
he was afraid he could do nothing. However, he said he 
would try. 

At the time Whitney went to Georgia, cotton seeds 
were removed from the fiber by hand. It used to take a 
negro a whole day to clean a single pound of cotton, and 
it took many slaves several months to clean an entire crop. 
Because of this vast amount of labor, the planters could 
not raise cotton at a profit. But if only some one could 
invent a cotton cleaner, the profits on cotton would be 
immense. This then was Whitney's problem. 

All winter long he tinkered. By the spring of 1793 he 
had succeeded in contriving a machine with which one 
man could clean one thousand pounds of cotton in one day. 

The machine consisted of two cylinders. On one were 
rows of teeth, which pulled the cotton through a grating 
too fine for the seeds to pass through. The other cylinder 
was covered with little brushes, which, as they met the 
teeth, brushed the cotton from them into a place pre- 
pared to catch it. And all this was done without in any 
way harming the seeds for the man}' uses they could be 
put to. 

282 



WHITNEY AND FULTON 



Whitney called the machine a cotton gin, " gin " being 
a contraction of the word "engine." He let only Mrs. 
Greene and a few others see his model. Yet, before long, 
nearly every one in the South was talking about his won- 
derful invention; and, careful as he was, his shop was 
broken into, and his model was stolen. Before he could 
make another and get it patented there were several cotton 
gins in operation. All were copied 
from his stolen model, and it was 
years before Whitney received 
justice in connec- 
tion with his great 
invention. 

Immediately 
after the invention 
of the cotton gin 
the planters began 
to increase the size 
of their cotton 
fields, and every 
year more and 
more cotton was 

raised. In 1784 America exported three thousand pounds. 
In 1803, ten years after the cotton gin came into use, forty 
million pounds were exported. 

Since Whitney's time, the increase in production has 
lowered the price of cotton goods from a dollar and fifty 
cents a yard to as low as five cents a yard, thus enabling 
the very poorest to buy cotton cloth. 

And all this is due to Eli Whitney's cotton gin, and 
has been brought about in a little over a century. The 
cotton gin has helped not only the Southern cotton 
growers, but also the manufacturers of both North and 
South. It has done much to improve our foreign trade, 

283 




A Section of the Cotton Gin, Showing the 
Cotton Passing from the Feeder Over 
the Cylinders. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

and so has helped the commerce of the country at large. 
Improvements have been made upon the original cotton gin, 
but the Americans of the twentieth century owe as much to 
Eli Whitney's invention as did those of a hundred years ago. 

TRAVEL IN COLONIAL DAYS 

In early colonial times a journey of any length was not 
lightly to be undertaken. There were no railroads in the 
colonies. There were not even good, broad, well-trodden, 
cross-country roads. 

If the traveler chose to make his journey by land he 
must make his way through the forests, guided only by the 







Traveling by Stage Coach. 



blazed trees that marked the path. In those early colo- 
nial times two or more persons traveling in the same direc- 
tion often used the "ride and tie system/' as it was called. 
That is to say, one would start on horseback, the other 
following on foot. The one on horseback, after riding 
about a mile, would dismount, tie the horse, and walk on. 
The one on foot, coming to the horse, would mount, ride 
past the one ahead for a distance, tie the horse, and walk 
on in his turn, leaving the horse once more for the first 
rider. 

284 



WHITNEY AND FULTON 

By 1776 a lumbering stage coach ran between New 
York and Philadelphia, But even then it took two days 
to make the trip in the most favorable weather. 

And a water journey was not much more easily made. 
Only slow sailing vessels crossed the ocean; the best of 
them taking weeks and sometimes months. 

Better, quicker means of travel were sorely needed. 
So efforts were made to replace the small river hand 
boats by ones which would go by steam. Several tried to 
solve this problem, but it was left for Robert Fulton to 
make the first successful steamboat in our country. 



THE BOY FULTON 

Robert Fulton was born in a Pennsylvania village, 
in 1765. When he went to school his schoolmaster found 
it hard work to keep the boy's attention. He did not ap- 
pear interested in the lessons set 
before him, but liked much bet- 
ter to spend his time drawing 
pictures with pencils that he had 
hammered out of pieces of lead. 
However, Fulton was far from 
being stupid. He had ideas of 
his own, and good ones. 

Shortly before the 4th of 
July, 1778, the people of Ful- 
ton's town stopped as they went 
along the street to read a public 
notice. The notice said that in- 
asmuch as candles were at present very scarce, the citi- 
zens were requested not to illuminate their houses that 
year in celebration of Independence Day. 

This was a bitter disappointment to Robert, who was 
20 285 




Robert Fulton. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

full of patriotism and eager to express it. He simply could 
not have the streets dark on the Fourth of July. So he 
bought some gunpowder and pasteboard, and went to 
work. 

Fourth of July came, and he was ready for it. He had 
made some sky rockets which surprised and astonished 
all the people. 

When young Fulton and his friends went fishing, they 
went in a heavy, flat-bottomed boat, which had to be 
poled along from place to place. As this was slow and 
rather hard work, Robert made a pair of paddle wheels, 
one of which was fastened to each side of the boat. They 
were turned by a crank and were far easier to manage 
than the long poles whose place they took. 

But while Fulton enjoyed making all sorts of things, 
he still took chief pleasure in drawing and painting. And 
when he was seventeen years old he went to Philadelphia 
to take up the life of an artist. 

THE "CLERMONT" 

Soon after Fulton became of age his friends began to 
urge him to go abroad, as in Europe he could learn to do 
better work and could win a wider reputation as an artist 
than in America. 

The voyage was made in a sailing vessel. Now and 
again a fair wind filled the sails, and the ship made good 
headway. Then came days of calm when the vessel 
rocked to and fro on the waves and drifted idly. It 
seemed a long journey. At last England was reached, 
and Robert Fulton went to London. 

For a while he devoted his time to art, but gradually 
his love for invention grew upon him and enticed him more 
and more away from his painting. During his stay in 

286 



WHITNEY AND FULTON 

England he invented several useful machines. Idea fol- 
lowed idea. 

At length he went to France and, while in that country, 
made a diving boat that would, move about under the 
water. This diving boat was to carry torpedoes, one of 
which could be fastened to the bottom of a ship so that, 
when it exploded, it would blow the ship to pieces. 

Fulton thought that such a boat would be a mighty 
protection to a country with a weak navy. Should an 
enemy's warship on mischief bent enter a harbor, down 
could go the diving boat with its torpedo; and in no time 
the dangerous visitor would be a hopeless wreck. But in 
spite of the inventor's belief in his boat, he could induce 
neither England nor France to adopt it. 

Another thing that Robert Fulton tried to do while in 
France was to make a boat that would run by steam. 
Fulton remembered that old flatboat to which he had fas- 
tened the paddle wheels. Why not try the same plan on 
a large boat and make a steam engine turn the crank? 

At that time Robert R. Livingston was America's 
minister to France. He grew so interested in Fulton's 
scheme that he offered to furnish the money necessary. 

When the boat was finished it was launched on the 
River Seine.- Fulton was well pleased; but just as the day 
of its trial trip was at hand, the boat broke in two and 
sank. The machinery had proved too heavy for so light 
a framework. A stronger one was made; but now the 
engine was not powerful enough to move the boat with 
any speed. 

Still Fulton was not discouraged. In 1806 he and 
Mr. Livingston went to New York, determined to try once 
more. 

The building of their boat was soon under way, and 
almost every day saw Fulton down at the shipyards direct- 

287 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



ing just how it should be done. He named the boat the 
Clermont, which was the name of Mr. Livingston's home 
on the Hudson. Others called it "Fulton's Folly./' so 
absurd did it seem even to try to make steam run a boat. 
Out of sheer curiosity, men visited the shipyards to look 
at "Fulton's Folly"; and they spoke of it with scorn and 
ridicule. 

It was August, 1807, when the Clermont was done. 




The "Clermont." 

Her owners invited their friends to go on a trip up the 
Hudson. 

So Fulton really thought that boat would go! It was 
too ridiculous. Great crowds gathered to see the fun of 
the start, which they felt would be no start at all. Even 
the invited guests stepped to the Clermont's deck with 
grave misgivings. No one enjoys being in an absurd 
position, and this certainly looked like one. 

The signal was given. The side wheels began to churn 
the water, and — wonder of wonders! — the Clermont moved 
steadily away from the dock. 

A great cheer rose from the amazed crowd on the shore. 
288 



WHITNEY AND FULTON 

But it died again as quickly as it rose. The boat had 
stopped. Now indeed the guests on board wished them- 
selves out of their predicament. Why had they come? 
They knew all the time just how it would be. 

Fulton frankly admitted that he did not know what 
was wrong. But he asked his passengers to give him half 
an hour in which to set things right. He promised that, if 
he could not start the boat in thirty minutes, he would 
give up the trip and put his guests ashore. Then, hurrying 
to his engine, he looked it over anxiously. The trouble 
was only a small matter, and in a few moments Fulton's 
skilled fingers had made the needed readjustment. 

Again the Clermont started, and this time she steamed 
straight up the Hudson. All the rest of that day and all 
fchat night she went on and on toward Albany. Fisher- 
men in their boats, sailors on sailing vessels, watchers on 
the shore heard the strange sound of the Clermont's engine, 
and saw the smoke pouring from her stack. All were 
filled with wonder, and many were overcome with terror. 

To Albany and back the Clermont went, covering the 
distance of one hundred and fifty miles between Albany 
and New York in thirty-two hours. This was only the 
first of many trips she made up and down the Hudson, 
carrying passengers. 

Robert Fulton was now a great man. He had suc- 
ceeded where all had expected failure; he had made a boat 
that would go in spite of wind or tide. 

And more than that. He had found the means for the 
better, quicker water travel which our country needed. 
Before many years steamboats were running on the Mis- 
sissippi and the Missouri Rivers and on the Great Lakes. 
The great West lay open to emigrants, and Robert Fulton 
had furnished a way for them to go there. 

Railroads came later. The first one was only about 
289 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

thirteen miles long and ran from Baltimore, Maryland, to 
Ellicott's Mills. Over its rails in 1830 went the first 
American locomotive. Ten years later there were nearly 
three thousand miles of railroad in the different states. 
On May 10, 1869, the last spike was driven in a railroad 
that ran clear across our country from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific. And to-day one can travel the 3,322 miles be- 
tween New York and San Francisco in the same length of 
time it took the early colonists to journey from New York 
to Boston. 





si@ 



~t£ f^— 



Railroad Travel in New York State in 1831. 



Summary 

The development of the South was furthered more by Eli 
Whitney's invention of the cotton gin, in 1793, than by any other 
means. This machine separated the seeds from the fiber of the 
cotton. — A plantation laborer could clean by hand but one pound 
of cotton a day ; the machine could clean one thousand pounds a 
day. — The increase in the amount of cotton that could be pre- 
pared for manufacturing helped industry the world over. 

The use of steam as a power in turning machinery was the 
first great step in facilitating travel. — In 1807, Robert Fulton 
built the first successful steamboat in America. — The first steam 
railroad in America was operated in 1830. — The use of steam- 
boats and railways quickened the settlement of the West and 
enormously helped the industries and commerce of the country. 



290 



XXIX 
OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 

BEFORE THE WAR OF 1812 

A sailor himself, Christopher Perry destined his son. 
Oliver, for the sea. The boy was born in South Kingston, 
Rhode Island, was sent to school in Newport, and lived 
the life of all boys until he was nearly fourteen. 

At this time his father was given command of the 
United States ship General Greene, bound for Cuba. What 
better chance for Oliver to become a sailor? The General 
Greene put out to sea in the spring of 1799, with Oliver 
Hazard Perry acting as her midshipman. 

It was on this West Indian cruise that the lad first 
learned practical seamanship, satisfying even his father 
by his readiness. Thanks to Christopher Perry's training 
and his own aptness, Oliver, when he left his father's ser- 
vice, was fitted for the seaman's life that lay before him. 

Now came years when England and France were at war 
with each other. England needed all the sailors she 
could get. She even went so far as to stop American 
ships on the high seas to search them for Englishmen sail- 
ing under the American flag. " Once an Englishman, al- 
ways an Englishman," she said. "If we find native-born 
Englishmen on your vessels, we shall treat them as de- 
serters to be returned to the English navy." 

Once aboard an American vessel, the British officers 
commanded the crew to be drawn up for inspection. Then 

291 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

began the selecting of sailors, whom, the intruders insisted, 
should be serving England's King. It mattered little that 
many of these sailors said they were American born. They 
were able-bodied men; England wanted them, and they 
were made to board the English ships and were carried off. 
Not only did British men-of-war stop our vessels on 
the open sea, but they were so bold as to lie in wait near the 
entrance of our harbors. When over six thousand sailors 
had been seized, and hundreds of vessels had been over- 
hauled, the end of American endurance was reached. And 
in 1812 war was declared on England. 



THE VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE 

At the beginning of the War of 1812, Perry was sta- 
tioned at Newport. Since the days of his first cruise on 
the General Greene, he had had a hand in putting down the 
pirates of the Mediterranean. He was no longer a mid- 
shipman, but 
was in com- 
mand of a flotil- 
la of American 
gunboats. 

Seeing little 
prospect of 
actual fighting 
if he stayed at 
Newport, Perry 
asked to be 
transferred. And, according to his wish, he was sent to 
the Great Lakes, where Commodore Chauncey put him in 
command of the forces on Lake Erie. 

By the capture of Detroit, the English had gained con- 
trol of Lake Erie, where they had a fleet which was a seri- 

292 




Where the Battle of Lake Erie Was 
Fought. 






OLIVER HAZARD PERRY 

ous menace to the Americans. It was Perry's task to rid 
the country of this danger. 

Commodore Perry was a man who believed in doing 
things; and from the time of his arrival on the lakes, things 
began to happen. When he reached Erie in March, 1813, 
he found two brigs, two gunboats, and a small schooner 
being built from the green timber of the forest trees. Leav- 
ing the shipbuilders to complete their work, Perry rushed 
to Pittsburg to hurry up the equipment for his little fleet. 
He hastened to get additional boats. He hurried them to 
Erie before the English could intercept them. And such 
was his alacrity that, by the end of July, his fleet was 
ready, except for the crews. These arrived slowly. Perry 
named his flagship the Lawrence, in honor of a gallant 
American captain who had shortly before died in battle, 
calling to his men, "Don't give up the ship!" 

August went by, and the first days of September. 
Then on the 10th of September, 1813, Perry met the Eng- 
lish fleet near Put-In Bay. In the American fleet were 
nine boats, large and small. In the English there were 
six. But the English six carried more guns than the 
American nine. 

Running up a blue flag bearing the brave words of 
Captain Lawrence, " Don't give up the ship!" "Perry or- 
dered his fleet to advance toward the approaching English. 
The Lawrence with two little schooners forged ahead. The 
rest of the fleet was delayed in starting, so the first of the 
English attack fell upon the flagship. Her masts were 
shot away, her guns were disabled, and she was completely 
crippled. The English had wrecked Perry's ship. Had 
they conquered the commander? No! Flag in hand, he 
slipped over the Lawrence's side, dropped into a small 
boat, and amidst the whizzing balls of the enemy was 
rowed to the Niagara. 

293 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Taking command at once on this second ship, Perry 
sailed straight into the enemy's line and raked the vessels 
with a deadly fire. The English could not endure long 
under such conditions, and one by one they struck their 
flags. 

With his victory won, Perry went back to the deck of 
the Lawrence and there received the English surrender. 




Commodore Perry Leaving the "Lawrence." 

His message to General Harrison, commanding the army in 
the west, was written on the back of an old letter. It read 
in part, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours." 

This victory gave the United States the control of 
Lake Erie, and the English abandoned Detroit. 

Other naval victories were ours on the ocean and on 
Lake Champlain. On the land we did not fare so well. 
In August, 1814, the English entered Washington and 
burned the Capitol to the ground. 

294 



OLIVER HAZAED PERRY 

However, when, on December 24, 1814, a treaty of 
peace was signed at Ghent, the United States had gained 
from England independence for all American ships sailing 
the seas. 

Summary 

In 1812, this country declared war against England, because 
she persisted in plundering our ships, seizing our sailors, and 
interfering with our commerce. — In 1813, Commodore Perry 
achieved a great victory over the English on Lake Erie. — This 
victory together with victories on the ocean and one on Lake 
Champlain, established the reputation of our navy. — In 1814, 
the English burned the Capitol at Washington. — In the end the 
Americans won their cause; and, at the close of 1814, a treaty 
was signed at Ghent. 



XXX 

ANDREW JACKSON 

THE EMIGRANT'S BOY 

About the time the injustice of the Stamp Act was 
common talk in the thirteen colonies, a poor Irish emigrant 
and his family set sail for America. 

The father was Andrew Jackson. He and his wife and 
two sons, Hugh and Robert, landed in America and made 
a clearing on Twelve Mile Creek, a branch of the Catawba 
River. 

After two short years of struggle to gain a living for his 
family, Andrew Jackson died. The wife was left to care 
for Hugh and Robert, and a baby boy, who was born 
on March 15, 1767, a few days after the father's death. 
The mother named her little boy after his father. And 
now we have come to the hero of our story, Andrew 
Jackson. 

On the death of her husband, Mrs. Jackson moved 
from the clearing, and went to the home of an invalid 
sister. Here she did what she could to support her 
children. 

When the boys were old enough, Mrs. Jackson sent 
them to school. But school was a sort of bugbear to 
Andrew. He was not much of a student. 

He was a thin, barefooted, freckle-faced lad, with 
reddish hair and eyes of a beautiful clear blue. He loved 
all out-of-door sports — hunting, running, jumping, and 

296 



ANDREW JACKSON 



wrestling. He was so full of tricks and fun that he was 
called "mischievous Andy." 

He was very wiry and active; and, although the strong- 
er boys could throw him three times out of four, he was 
so quick in getting 
to his feet that 
they couldn't keep 
him down. He 
was never afraid 
of the older lads, 
and always took 
the part of the 
smaller and weak- 
er boys. But Andy 
had his faults as 
well as his virtues. 
One of these was 
bis quick temper, 
which was always 
ready to blaze 
forth. As he grew 
older he learned 
to control it; but 
even then it some- 
times ran away 
with him, and he 
did things for 
which he was very 
sorry afterwards. 

Although still a little fellow when the Revolution be- 
gan, Andrew took the liveliest interest in it; and when 
the campaign in the South brought the fighting near his 
home, he and Robert attached themselves to a band of 
dragoons. It is hard to tell just what work was assigned 

297 




Jackson Refusing to Clean the Boots 
of the British Officer. 



A FIKST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

to such young boys, but they saw at least one battle during 
that summer. 

The next year Robert and Andrew Jackson were cap- 
tured by the British. One day, while they were prisoners, 
an officer ordered Andrew to clean his muddy boots. The 
boy's temper was up in an instant; and he flashed out, 
"Sir, I'm not your slave. I am your prisoner; and, as 
such, I refuse to do the work of a slave." 

Angered at the lad's boldness, the officer raised his 
sword to strike. Andrew parried the blow, but received two 
severe wounds, the scars of which he carried to the grave. 

He and Robert were soon sent to the prison pen at 
Camden. This was a large yard around the jail. The 
poor soldiers had no shelter and hardly any food. Some 
of them had smallpox, and everything was as wretched 
as could be. Day by day the men waited for the help 
that did not come. Andrew's mother had been pleading 
for her sons' release and finally succeeded in getting them 
exchanged for British prisoners. When they left the 
prison, both boys had smallpox. Robert died, and An- 
drew recovered only after a long illness. 

As soon as his mother could leave him, the patriotic 
woman went to care for the soldiers on the prison ships in 
Charleston Harbor. There she took a fever; and she, too, 
died. Poor Andrew was now left to face the world alone. 



LAWYER AND FIGHTER 

At the age of twenty-one, after he had been admitted 
to the bar, young Jackson joined a party that crossed the 
Blue Ridge Mountains into Tennessee and settled in 
Nashville. The freckle-faced schoolboy had grown into 
a man, six feet and one inch tall, with the same thick red- 
dish hair and sharp blue eyes. 

298 






ANDREW JACKSON 

In 1791 Jackson married. His home during his mar- 
ried life was on a large plantation not far from Nashville. 
Here he built a house, which he called "The Hermitage." 
Rich and poor alike were welcome here, and " The Hermi- 
tage " was always famous for its hospitality. 

A few years rolled by; and then one summer the Creek 
Indians attacked Fort Mimms in Alabama and massacred 
about five hundred men, women, and children who had 
taken refuge there. Jackson, who had long before been 
elected Major General of the Tennessee militia, took com- 
mand of a detachment and marched against the Indians. 

After this campaign, in which the power of the Creeks 
was broken, Jackson received the title of Major General in 
the United States army. 

The War of 1812 was now in progress; and a few 
months after subduing the Creeks, General Jackson and 
his troops were ordered south to keep the British out of the 
Mississippi Valley. 

In Florida, which still belonged to Spain, the British 
had been allowed to land at the town of Pensacola. When 
Jackson heard of this he marched against the sleepy little 
Spanish town and drove the British back to their ships. 
Then he went to the defense of New Orleans, as that city 
was the key to the Mississippi. 

The English soldiers sent to take New Orleans were 
veterans just from the wars with Napoleon. Their foreign 
victories were still fresh in their minds, and they thought 
what short work they would make of the backwoodsmen 
of America. 

On the 8th of January, 1815, the British made their 
last advance against the city. All their previous attacks 
had been repelled by the vigilance and activity of General 
Jackson. Nor did he mean to be beaten now. "Old 
Hickory" was everywhere on that memorable day. 

299 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

"Stand to your guns!" "See that every shot tells!" 
were his commands. And so well did the soldiers obey, 
that when the battle was over they could claim an over- 




General Jackson Keeping Watch of the Enemy from the Roof 
of His Headquarters in New Orleans. 



whelming victory. The British had lost more than twenty- 
five hundred men. 

The saddest thing about the whole war was that the 
battle of New Orleans was fought after peace had beer 

300 



ANDREW JACKSON 

declared. The agreement as you know was made in 
Ghent; and just because there were no cables or fast ocean 
steamers in those days, the news of peace did not reach 
this country until after these many lives had been sacri- 
ficed. 



PRESIDENT 

In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected President of the 
United States. As President, he showed the same fear- 
lessness that he had displayed 
in battle. 

The South at this time 
was opposed to the law which 
put a high tariff, or tax, on 
imported goods. The North- 
ern States wanted this tariff 
because they were manu- 
facturing states. They said 
that Americans ought to buy 
goods made in America, and 
that the way to make them 
support the home industries 
was to force a high price on 
foreign manufactures. The 
Southern States were not manufacturing states, and so 
had to buy their finished woolen and cotton cloth from 
either the North or Europe. Before the tariff, they had 
been able to get it from Europe for less than they could 
buy it in the North. Now all this was changed. With the 
duty that must now be paid, foreign cloth was even higher 
in price than cloth made in the North ; so the South was 
practically forced to buy from the North at her price. The 
South claimed that this was an effort to enrich the North 
at the expense of the South. South Carolina, especially, 
21 301 




a ^T^yti^ v^U-^j 



<»t_ 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

resented such a step and said that she would disobey the 
law. 

President Jackson was a southern man, so the South 
thought that he would not oppose them. Imagine their 
surprise then, when, at a banquet of southern sympa- 
thizers, he offered the toast, "The Federal Union. It 
must and shall be preserved." Jackson felt that the 
Union should stand ahead of the States, and that no state 
had the right to withdraw from it. When he found that 
South Carolina was firm in her refusal to pay the tariff, 
he said, "Send for General Scott." Troops were immedi- 
ately ordered south, and South Carolina withdrew her 
opposition. Jackson's firmness of decision had put off 
the day of secession. 

At the end of his second term of office, Andrew Jackson 
retired to his plantation home, where he spent the few 
remaining years of his life in peace and quiet. He will 
always be remembered for his fearless devotion to what 
he believed to be right, and will live in the hearts of all 
loyal Americans as one who helped to preserve the union 
of our country. 

Summary 

During the early years of this country the frontier settle- 
ments frequently suffered from Indian attacks. — The Creek 
Indians massacred the garrison and refugees at Fort Mimms, 
Alabama. — Andrew Jackson, who was sent against the Creeks, 
completely conquered them and broke their power forever in the 
South. — In the War of 1812, General Jackson drove the British 
from Florida. — In 1815, he defeated the British in the Battle of 
New Orleans. — He was President of the United States from 
1829 to 1837. — When the people of South Carolina refused to pay 
the tariff on imported goods, President Jackson sent troops into 
the South to enforce the law. He insisted that all the States 
obey the Federal laws, that the Union might be preserved. 

302 






XXXI 
HENRY CLAY AND DANIEL WEBSTER 

EARLY TRAINING OF HENRY CLAY 

Have you ever heard of the " Mill Boy of the Slashes "? 
He was born in Virginia in 1777, in a part of the country 
that had many low, swampy lands, called "The Slashes." 
This "Mill Boy" 
was Henry 
Clay. 

The neigh- 
bors often saw 
him riding to the 
mill seated on a 
bag of corn 
thrown across 
his horse's back, 
and the people 
all along the way called him "The Mill Boy of the Slashes." 

Although the Clays were poor, Henry was sent to 
school. Then, when he was fourteen, he went to Rich- 
mond to work. Later he took up the study of law. 

As there was little chance in Richmond, Clay, like 
Jackson, concluded to go west when he had become a full- 
fledged lawyer. So, when he was not quite twenty-one, 
•he settled down in Lexington, Kentucky, where he hoped 
his profession as a lawyer would bring him fair returns. 
He was not mistaken. 

303 




The Birthplace of Henry Clay. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

And all the while he was gaining popularity. The peo- 
ple of Lexington and of the whole state loved and admired 
him. He was not yet thirty years old when they sent him 
to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. 



IN CONGRESS 

In the Senate, Clay began at once to take part like an 
old hand at the business. He was all attention and ready 
to act whenever any one made a resolution which had to 
do with "internal improvements." 

At this time America was at peace with foreign nations, 
and the country was thriving. Thousands of people were 




Emigrant and Freight Wagon of Pioneer Days. 

pouring over the mountains into the fertile regions be- 
yond. But the roads were poor; there were snags, sand 
bars, and rapids in the rivers, and the hardships of a jour- 
ney were great. So, as the West grew, there was constant 
cry for better roads and for canals and bridges between the 
East and the West. 

Henry Clay knew how hard the journey was, because 
he, too, had been an emigrant. And from the days of his 
first term in the Senate he became a veritable champion 
of the cause of internal improvements. One of the most 
useful of these improvements was the famous Cumberland 
Road, which in due time was opened from the banks of 

304 



CLAY AND WEBSTER 

the Potomac at Cumberland, Maryland, over the moun- 
tains and across the country, until it almost reached the 
Mississippi. 

Clay's first term in the Senate was soon over. But 
in 1809 he was sent again to fill the unexpired term of 
another senator. He served for two years, and when the 
two years were up he was elected a member of the House 
of Representatives. 

Late in 1811 Henry Clay arrived in Washington to 
take his place in the House. On his very first day of 
service he was chosen Speaker. 

In this position Clay had great influence, and it was 
largely due to his leadership that the War of 1812 was 
brought on as soon as it was. He said that America must 
stand up for the rights of her sailors, and not allow Eng- 
land to seize them. He felt and preached that war must 
come, and war came. New England was against the war. 
But Clay insisted that a sailor who works or fights for his 
country has a right to be protected by that country. The 
flag under which he sails should be his protection. If a 
country cannot protect its sailors by peaceable means, 
then it ought to do so by force. 

The War of 1812 was not much of a success from a 
military point of view. It was our plucky little navy 
which taught England that she must keep her hands off 
American sailors. 

In 1814 Henry Clay was one of the men who went to 
Europe to arrange the treaty of peace that put an end to 
the war. 

THE GREAT PACIFICATOR 

In the early days black slaves were brought by ship- 
loads from Africa and were sold to the colonists. No 
matter how long or how hard the slave worked, he could 

305 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

never earn his freedom; and he might, at any time, be 
sold away from his family. Occasionally a master gave 
a slave his freedom, but this happened rarely. Many of 
the slaves were kindly treated and had comfortable homes; 
but others had little to eat and wear, and many hardships 
to endure. 

Before the Revolution all the states had slaves. But 
in the years that followed the war, the North gradually 
gave up slavery. The Northern States were turning their 
attention to manufacturing; for their swift-flowing streams 
gave excellent water power for mills and factories. The 
negroes of those days were not educated enough to work 
in the factories, so slave labor was no longer practicable 
in the North. This fact doubtless made it easier for the 
North to recognize the evils of slaveholding, and one by 
one the Northern States declared themselves free states — 
that is, states opposed to slavery. 

The South still held firmly to its slave system and 
intended to do so. With their warm climate and broad 
stretches of fertile land, the Southern States went on raising 
cotton, rice, and tobacco. And it is in no way surprising 
that they saw much good and little evil in the slave labor 
which was so cheap and which served their purposes so 
well. 

Thus, little by little, the difference in business interests 
between the North and the South led to an ever-growing 
difference of opinion in regard to slavery. 

The laws that governed the interests of the North and 
the South were made in Congress by the representatives 
of the different states. So it was only natural that North 
and South should each want on its side as many states 
as possible, in order to increase the number of its votes 
in Congress. 

When Missouri asked to be taken into the Union as a 
306 



CLAY AND WEBSTER 



slave state, there were eleven free states and eleven slave 
states — an arrangement of which neither side could com- 
plain. Now, if Missouri came in as a slave state, it would 
give the controlling votes in Congress to the South. Of 
course the South was in favor of admitting Missouri. And 
of course the North was set against such a step. For 
nearly two years the matter 
was debated. Neither side 
would give in to the other. 

Then Henry Clay per- 
suaded Congress to make a 
compromise which promised 
satisfaction to both North 
and South. By this com- 
promise, Missouri was to be 
taken into the Union as a 
slave state, on the express 
understanding that any other 
states that might be formed 
from the Louisiana Purchase 
land north of Missouri's 
southern boundary should be 
free forever. 

The Missouri compromise 
was adopted in 1820. But even before Missouri succeeded 
in becoming the twelfth slave state, Maine had been ad- 
mitted as the twelfth free state. And so neither North 
nor South could yet claim the balance of power in Con- 
gress. 

In 1848 a short war between the United States and 
Mexico came to an end. And at its close Mexico ceded 
California and New Mexico to the United States. Here 
was the old struggle back again. Should slavery be al- 
lowed in this new land or not? 

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A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

California wanted to enter the Union as a free state. 
Again there was the same number of free and slave states, 
and again the state asking to come in would give one side 
the advantage over the other. So again there were hot 
disputes. These grew so bitter that the Union was in 
danger of being broken up. Once more, as in the case of 
Missouri, Henry Clay urged a compromise. This com- 
promise contained so many points that it was called the 
"Omnibus Bill." 

According to Clay's plan, California was to be admitted 
as a free state; the people in the rest of the new land were 
to suit themselves as to how their territory should come 
into the Union; and the North was to arrest, and send 
back to their owners, all runaway slaves found in the free 
states. For two days Clay spoke in the Senate. People 
had come from far and near to hear him, and all his old 
charm of voice and manner were used to convince his 
audience of the advantages of the compromise. He asked 
the North to yield, and appealed to the South for 
peace. Then followed a debate which lasted for months, 
but finally Clay's compromise was adopted. This was 
in 1850. 

A fellow Kentuckian told Mr. Clay that this compro- 
mise would injure his chances of ever becoming president. 
"Sir, I would rather be right than be president," answered 
Mr. Clay. 

In two short years after his struggle to keep the states 
together by his compromise of 1850, Henry Clay died. 
He has been called the great Pacificator. Though his 
compromises failed to secure to the country the lasting 
good he hoped for, they attest his patriotism — his pure 
love for his country, and his desire to see the Union great 
and glorious. The name of Henry Clay will always fill 
a place in the list of America's honored statesmen. 

308 



CLAY AND WEBSTER 

DANIEL WEBSTER'S EARLY DAYS 

One day, many, many years ago, an eight-year-old 
toy hurried into a New Hampshire village store. His 
black eyes were bright, and he was eager, for he had come 
to buy a coveted treasure. 

On a past visit to the store the lad had seen a cotton 
handkerchief on which was printed the new Constitution 
of the LTnited States. How he had wanted this wonderful 
handkerchief! But it takes money to buy things; and 
for lack of the price the treasure had been left behind, 
while the boy went home to save up the needed twenty- 
five cents. 

At last he had succeeded and, money in hand, had 
come to buy the longed-for copy of the Constitution. It 
was from his printed cotton handkerchief that Daniel 
Webster learned the Constitution from end to end. Little 
did he think then that he would ever be called the de- 
fender of that same Constitution. 

Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, — now Franklin, 
— New Hampshire, in 1782. He was the ninth of ten 
children. 

Because of his ill health little was expected of him on 
the farm, and he was allowed to roam at will over the 
hills and through the meadows. His companion on these 
rambles was an old soldier-sailor, who had deserted from 
the British ranks to help the Americans fight for freedom. 
And many thrilling tales did he pour into the willing ears 
of his little listener, which filled Daniel with love for his 
cou'ntry. 

Whenever he could, Daniel went to school. As he 
learned easily and remembered well, he soon came to be 
considered the brightest boy in his class. Once his teacher 
promised a jackknife to the pupil who could recite the 

309 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



greatest number of verses from the Bible. When Daniel's 
turn came, he reeled off so many verses that the master 
had to stop him. There was no question as to who had 
won the knife. 

His talents were a delight to his father, who had had 
little chance himself for study and appreciated what he 
had missed. Knowing that Daniel's poor health would 
prevent him from ever doing hard physical labor, Mr. 

Webster determined to give 
the boy an education. 

This was a great undertak- 
ing in those days, especially to 
people of small means. For 
the Websters it meant much 
sacrifice on the part of the 
whole family. 

Mr. Webster told Daniel 
about the plan and spoke sad- 
ly of his own lack of school- 
ing. Daniel was much moved 
and never forgot his father's 
words. The next spring Mr. 
Q-tZtrzJZ- /^^ZZ^ Webster took the boy to Ex- 
eter Academy. 
This was Daniel's first step in the outside world, and 
it proved a bitter experience for him. The boys at Exe- 
ter were mostly sons of wealthy parents. They were well 
dressed and came from cultured homes, and they laughed 
at Daniel's country clothes and manners. Such treat- 
ment hurt the sensitive boy, but he had the good sense 
not to resent it. Although he rose rapidly in his classes, 
one thing he could not do. He could not face these school- 
boys and declaim. He invariably failed completely when- 
ever he was called upon to speak before his schoolmates, 

310 




CLAY AND WEBSTER 

Alone in his room, he would go over and over what he 
wanted to say; but as soon as he faced the boys, not a 
word could he utter. And yet in years to come, this lad 
was to be one of the greatest orators of modern times. 

Before he was sixteen, Webster was ready to enter 
Dartmouth College. During the first two years of life at 
college, he was not the best student in his class. He was 
never a scholar, in the true sense of the word; but he had 
the reputation of being one. Webster himself said that 
it was because he read so much and remembered so well 
what he read, that he could talk with ease; and that when 
he came to the end of his knowledge he was careful to stop 
and let other people do the talking. 

Everyone wondered at his eloquence. He had over- 
come the bashfulness which made his life wretched at 
Exeter, and now he delighted in nothing so much as hold- 
ing an audience spellbound by the music of his marvelous 
voice. 

IN CONGRESS 

Webster was graduated from Dartmouth in 1801 and 
later went to Portsmouth, where he practiced law and 
took an active part in politics. Soon he was elected to 
Congress, and took his seat there in May, 1813. 

There were many noted men in the Jiouse at this time. 
Among them were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Both 
were statesmen and born debaters and orators. They 
were leaders of the Southern States; and, as Webster be- 
came a northern leader, he was often opposed to them on 
the great questions of the day. 

One of these questions had to do with the tariff, or 
duty, on certain imported goods. Mr. Clay, and at that 
time the South, thought that there ought to be a tariff 
on these articles to protect the growing American indus- 

311 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

tries. Webster did not agree with him and made several 
speeches against the different tariff laws as they came up 
from time to time. 

But when the tariff bill of 1828 was before the House, 
to the general surprise Webster changed about, and spoke 
in favor of it and voted for it. The reason for his change 
was that New England had, by this time, increased her 
manufacturing and was now in a position to profit by a 
tariff that placed a tax on competing goods imported from 
other countries. With New England it was simply a 
matter of dollars and cents, not one of right and wrong. 
And being a New England man, Webster changed his 
views to accord with those of his home section. 

By this time the South, too, had changed about, and 
was bitterly opposed to the tariff bill of 1828; for she had 
found that foreign goods were, on the whole, cheaper than 
goods made in the North However, the bill was passed 
and became a law. As a result the enraged southern peo- 
ple held mass meetings and declared the new tariff a vio- 
lation of the Constitution, claiming that Congress had no 
power to impose duties expect those necessary for the ex- 
penses of the government. South Carolina even went so 
far as to say that the law would not be obeyed and that, 
if force was used, she would withdraw from the Union. 

In January, 1830, Senator Hayne of South Carolina 
made a bitter attack on Massachusetts and on Webster, 
and in the Senate of the United States declared this south- 
ern doctrine — that any state has the right to disobey the 
nation's laws. 

Webster, who was now Senator from Massachusetts, 
agreed that on the next day he would reply to Hayne. 
There was some doubt felt as to whether Webster could 
answer Hayne's arguments. He had only one night in 
which to prepare what he had to say. But none knew the 

312 



CLAY AND WEBSTER 

Constitution better than he, for had he not been a close 
student of it ever since his childhood days? 

By the opening hour of the next day the crowd that 
had come to hear him packed the Senate Chamber. 

"It is a critical moment," said a friend; "and it is 
time, it is high time that the people of this country should 
know what this Constitution is." 




The House of Representatives in the Days of Webster and Clay 



"Then," answered Webster, "by the blessing of 
Heaven, they shall learn this clay before the sun goes down 
what I understand it to be." 

His theme was "Nationality." His sole purpose was 
to strengthen the claims of the Union; to put the Union 
first and the State second. For four hours he held that 
vast throng spellbound, while he set forth the meaning 
of the Constitution. His whole life had been a prepara- 
tion for this moment. And his closing words, "Liberty 
and union, now and forever, one and inseparable," in- 

313 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

spired all loyal Americans with deeper devotion to the 
Union. 

In his " Reply to Hayne " Daniel Webster reached his 
highest point as a public speaker. More than his elo- 
quence was the influence of the man himself. Nature had 
been most lavish with her gifts to him. His voice, face, 
and form were perfectly suited to an orator. He lacked 
but little of six feet. He had a swarthy complexion and 
straight black hair. His head was large and well shaped. 
His brow was high and broad. His wonderful eyes were 
deep set, black and glowing. But perhaps his voice was 
the most remarkable of all. In conversation, it was low 
and musical. In debate, it was high and full, sometimes 
ringing out like a clarion and then sinking to deep notes 
like the tones of an organ. 

By his splendid defense of the Constitution, Daniel 
Webster won a national fame which brought with it talk of 
the Presidency. This high honor dangled before his eyes 
all the rest of his public life — a dream never to be realized. 

Through the years of his long public career, Daniel Web- 
ster had taken much pleasure in his country home at 
Marshfield near the Massachusetts coast. It was to Marsh- 
field that he came in disappointment over his failure to 
gain the Presidency in 1852. And it was here that he died 
in October of that same year. 

From his boyhood he had loved the flag with an inten- 
sity which increased with his years. And now, when he 
lay dying, his eyes constantly looked through the window 
in the dark hours of the night to a small boat anchored at 
the shore, for over this boat were flying the stars and 
stripes, lighted by a ship lantern on the mast. 

Daniel Webster was a true American citizen. His 
chief desire was to see the nation great and glorious, and 
he strove with all the ardor and force of his great soul to 

314 



CLAY AND WEBSTER 

preserve the Union. For years he poured the message of 
nationality into the ears of the people. He it was who 
fostered and strengthened this spirit so that, when the 
South seceded, the North had the courage to perform her 
mighty task. This is the debt the American people owe 
to Daniel Webster, and in this lies his importance in the 
history of our country. 

Summary 

While United States Senator from Kentucky, Henry Clay 
did great service to his country by urging that Federal laws be 
passed and Government money be appropriated to build roads 
and make other internal improvements. — Of these the Cumber- 
land Road was the most important. — As Speaker of the House 
of Representatives in 1811, Clay was largely responsible for the 
declaration of war against England. He was one of the makers 
of the Treaty of Ghent. — The states of the Union came to differ 
on the question of slavery, the North opposing the system, and 
the South maintaining its right to use slave-labor. — In 1820, the 
dispute in Congress over Missouri's petition to be admitted as a 
slave state was settled by Clay's bill known as the "Missouri 
Compromise. " — War with Mexico resulted in the United States' 
acquiring New Mexico and California in 1848. — On the admission 
of California as a free state in 1850, Clay's "Omnibus Bill" again 
averted, for the time, war between the states. 

Daniel Webster, like Henry Clay, worked vigorously to pre- 
vent the separation of the United States. — He argued that the 
rights of the individual states should not be allowed to interfere 
with the good of the Union as a whole. — In 1828, South Caro- 
lina refused to obey the new tariff law and declared her right 
to withdraw from the Union. — In 1830, in the United States 
Senate, Webster replied to Senator Hayne, who upheld the posi- 
tion of South Carolina, in a stirring speech explaining and defend- 
ing the Constitution. — Daniel Webster was an able lawyer and 
statesman, and one of the most eloquent orators of modern times. 

315 



XXXII 
SAMUEL F. B. MORSE AND HIS SUCCESSORS 

METHODS OF SIGNALING 

"If danger threatens you from our direction, we will 
warn you by a beacon fire/' agreed the early inhabitants 
of neighboring settlements. This way of sending a mes- 
sage from hilltop to hilltop by signal fires was a custom 
our ancestors brought with them from across the sea. At 
best it was uncertain, and the message to be sent had to be 
agreed upon beforehand. 

Later another signaling device, the semaphore, came 
into use to some extent. The semaphore was made by 
fastening a movable arm to an upright post, the different 
angles at which the arm was placed indicating the different 
words of the message. 

Then during the Civil War, flags and. rockets were 
used in signaling on the battlefield, and to notify troops 
of the approach of the enemy. 

The heliographic system was still another form of sig- 
naling, and was carried out by reflecting the sun's light 
from one station to another by means of mirrors. Helio- 
graph signals have been sent more than one hundred and 
fifty miles. But even this system had its drawbacks. It 
was only a daylight and pleasant- weather system, dark- 
ness or cloudy weather putting an end to communication 
between the stations. 

So you see that the invention of the telegraph supplied 
316 



S. F. B. MORSE AND HIS SUCCESSORS 

a great and pressing need. Here was a means of rapid 
communication, one that could be used by night as well 
as by day, and could carry a message long or short. 
Samuel F. B. Morse was the inventor of the telegraph. 



SAMUEL MORSE AND THE TELEGRAPH 

Morse was a Massachusetts boy, born there in 1791. 
While in college at Yale, Morse had for professors two 
of the most noted scientists of the day in this country, 




Signals by Means of the Heliograph. 

and through them he first became interested in electricity. 
However, at the time of graduation his ambition was to 
become an artist, not a scientist. Accordingly he went to 
London, where he worked for four years with splendid 
results and where, through his father's influence, he came 
to know many prominent Englishmen. 

In 1815 he came back to America and set about earn- 
22 317 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

ing his living through his art. He seems to have been a 
true Yankee with an active, inventive mind. At dinner 
one night, in 1832, when he was returning from another 
visit abroad, the conversation turned on electricity. Then 
and there the thought flashed through his mind that this 
mysterious force might be employed in sending messages. 

For the next eleven years Morse's principal interest in 
life was pushing and perfecting the idea of an electric tele- 
graph. Poor! He was so poor that it was with great 
difficulty that he managed to carry on his investigations 
at all. Discouragement followed discouragement; but 
still he plodded on, always confident of final success. 

In 1835 he was appointed professor in the University 




The First Telegraphic Message Sent by the Morse System. 

of the City of New York. Luckily for him one of his pupils 
became interested in the experiments and induced his 
father, the owner of brass and iron works, .to furnish the 
necessary materials. 

Then came the struggle to raise the money needed to 
put up a telegraph line. Morse exhibited his apparatus 
in Philadelphia. He exhibited it in Washington to the 
President and his Cabinet, and for several years sought an 
appropriation from Congress with which to build an ex- 
perimental telegraph line. Finally, in 1843, an appro- 
priation of $30,000 was granted. The Senate approved 
the bill late at night on the last day of the session, after 
Morse had given up all hope of its being reached and had 

318 



S. F. B. MORSE AND HIS SUCCESSORS 

gone home to bed. As he was coming down to breakfast 
in the morning, a young lady congratulated him on his 
success. Had the Senate passed his bill? He could hardly 
believe the news. 

A year later the bearer of the good tidings was asked 
to send the first telegraph message in this country. " What 
hath God wrought!" were the words she chose. And on 
May 24, 1844, this message was flashed from Washington 
to Baltimore over Morse's new telegraph line. Of course 
the opening of the line created intense interest; and the 
Chamber of the Supreme Court, the Washington end of 
the line, was filled with excited people. 

The practical use of the telegraph was shown in a 
rather dramatic way a few days later. The Democratic 
National Convention was being held in Baltimore, and 
Silas Wright was unexpectedly nominated for Vice Presi- 
dent. The news was telegraphed to Morse at Washington, 
and Wright's refusal of the nomination was quickly sent 
back to Baltimore, and the convention was told of it. 
This was beyond belief. It was not possible that a message 
had really been sent, received, and answered in so short a 
time. Surely it was some trick of Wright's enemies, noth- 
ing more nor less. So the convention adjourned, while a 
committee went to Washington to see Wright in person, 
only to learn that the message was correct and that he had 
refused the nomination. 

Soon after the opening of the telegraph line a young 
lady came to Morse with a sealed letter and asked him to 
send it by telegraph to Baltimore. When he said that he 
could not do that, she asked if he would not send her. 
These and other queer notions about Morse's invention 
were held by many when it was first put into operation. 

The influence of the telegraph was soon widely recog- 
nized, and Morse richly deserved the many rewards he 

319 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

received. By his genius and ability he had contrived a 
means of overcoming distance, enabling those separated 
by many miles to communicate with the swiftness of 
lightning. 

CYRUS W. FIELD AND MARCONI 

After becoming accustomed to the rapidity of com- 
munication by telegraph, ten days or more seemed a long 
time to wait for European news. So Cyrus W. Field in- 
terested himself in plans for the laying of an ocean cable. 




H. M. S. "Agamemnon" Laying the First Atlantic Cable. 



Early in 1854 the New York, Newfoundland, and Lon- 
don Telegraph Company was chartered, and the prelim- 
inary work was begun. By August of 1857 all the ar- 
rangements were made; and on the 7th a steamer started 
from Ireland for Newfoundland, unrolling the cable as it 

320 



S. F. B. MORSE AND HIS SUCCESSORS 



went. But after a few hundred miles had been laid, the 
cable broke; and the attempt was put off for a year. 

In 1858 another effort at cable-laying proved success- 
ful, and for eighteen days England and America were con- 
nected. Messages of congratulation were sent by the 
Queen and the President, and every one concerned with 
the undertaking was happy. Then suddenly the cable 
ceased to work; a break had occurred somewhere. 

No further attempt was made to carry out Field's plan 
until 1865, when 
the Great Eastern, 
the largest ship of 
that time, suc- 
ceeded in laying 
more than a thou- 
sand miles of cable. 
At that point came 
another discourag- 
ing break. 

Mr. Field still 
persisted, how- 
ever ; and finally 
in 1866 a cable 
was successfully 
stretched across the Atlantic Ocean. Ever since that time 
there has been cable communication between this country 
and Europe. There are to-day more than half a dozen 
cables across the Atlantic and Pacific ; and, as far as news 
is concerned, New York is as near to London and the capi- 
tals of Europe as it is to Washington. 

It is indeed wonderful to be able to send messages 
over a wire across land and sea. But a still more mar- 
velous invention is now coming into use. This is wire- 
less telegraphy. The inventor is an Italian, Guglielmo 

321 




Transatlantic Wireless Station at 
Cape Breton. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Marconi. By Marconi's system messages can be sent 
miles through the air from station to station without a 
wire to carry them. In 1907 a wireless message was sent 
from a station in Nova Scotia to a station in Ireland and 
to-day, thanks to this wonderful invention, ships crossing 
the ocean can keep in constant communication with land. 



ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL AND THE TELEPHONE 

Eighteen hundred and seventy-six was the year of 
the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, and at that 
time and place another great electrical invention was 




The Telephone Exchange at a Central Office. 

exhibited. But in spite of the fact that the telegraph 
by land and sea had already illustrated the marvelous 
uses of electricity, the telephone of Alexander Graham 
Bell was regarded by people generally as a toy. 

322 



S. F. B. MORSE AND HIS SUCCESSORS 

Few, if any, credited that it could ever be of practical 
service. And yet there is hardly any modern invention 
that has done as much to add to the convenience of living 
as has the telephone. We use it to order our meals, to 
chat with our friends, or to transact business, near at 
hand or miles away. Most of us use it a hundred times 
where we use the telegraph once. 



Summary 

Samuel F. B. Morse invented the electric telegraph. The 
first line was operated in 1844, between Washington and Balti- 
more. 

Chiefly through the efforts of Cyrus W. Field, in 1858 a tele- 
graph cable was laid between England and America: after a few 
days this cable broke. In 1866 another cable was laid and 
successfully operated. To-day a number of cables cross the 
Atlantic and Pacific. 

Gulielmo Marconi, an Italian, invented a practical system of 
I wireless telegraphy. 

Alexander Graham Bell invented the electric telephone, first 
operated in 1876. 

\ 

I 



XXXIII 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

LINCOLN'S BIRTHPLACE 

On the roughly built bed over in the corner two little 
children lie asleep. Before the open fireplace the mother 
and father talk together in low tones. 

It is winter, and outside a storm is raging. From 
time to time the wind beats with added fury against the 

lonely Kentucky log 
cabin. As its icy 
breath comes through 
the cracks between 
the logs, the mother 
shivers; and crossing 
to the bed she tucks 
the patchwork quilt 
closer about her chil- 
dren and spreads an 
extra deerskin over 
them. 

A smaller skin, which is the only cover for the window, 
is flapping, letting in the cold. This then must be fastened 
better; and while she is about it, the mother looks to see 
if the doorway is covered as tightly as it can be. Sure 
that all is now secure she comes back to the fire and sits 
down on one of the wooden blocks that serve as chairs. 
To a stranger this might seem a poor little place, with 
324 




Where Lincoln was Born. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

only the hard earth for a floor and only one room to hold 
the bed, the board table, the wooden bench, the shelf for 
dishes, and even the old Dutch oven. But to Thomas 
and Nancy Lincoln it is home, and they are happy in it. 
Suppose it is cold on a winter's night — summer will soon 
come again, bringing warmth, sunshine, and a free out-of- 
door life. Suppose their bread is made from corn meal, and 
potatoes are about the only vegetable they have — there is 
always plenty of venison, and other game, or fish, to be 
boiled in the great iron pot, or broiled over the hot ashes. 
Things might be much worse. The Lincolns' life is 
the life of those about them, and they are content in their 
little log cabin, the birthplace of their boy Abraham. 



LINCOLN THE BOY 

Abraham was four years old on the 12th of February 
1813. Within a few months after that date, his father 
sold the farm where the boy was born and moved to an- 
other about fifteen miles away. This second home was 
a log cabin much like the old one. 

Naturally the neighbors were interested to learn some- 
thing about the new family. They found Thomas Lincoln 
a cheerful, happy-go-lucky man. He was a carpenter by 
trade, a farmer by circumstance, and a do-nothing by 
choice. 

Nancy Lincoln was a handsome young woman with 
far more energy than her husband. She was considered 
very well educated because she could read and write, 
things which few of her neighbors could do. She was a 
good housekeeper. She could spin and weave, could use 
a hoe or an ax as well as Thomas, and was as good a shot. 
Best of all she was a devoted wife and mother. 

Then there was their daughter Sarah and the boy 
325 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Abraham. Abraham was an awkward, homely child. 
He wore a rough homespun shirt, deerskin trousers and 
leggings, homemade shoes, and a coonskin cap. 

The Lincolns lived on their second Kentucky farm 
until the fall of 1816. Then the spirit of unrest tempted 

Thomas Lincoln to 
move again. This time 
he took his family to 
the timber lands of 
Indiana. The journey 
ended in a piece of 
lonely forest. 

At once the father 
and son fell to with 
their axes, chopping 
trees, cutting poles 
and boughs. With 
these they built a 
"half-face" camp 
fourteen feet square. 
A " half-face " camp 
is practically a shed 
with three walls, the 
fourth side being open 
and entirely unpro- 
tected. In front of 
this open side the Lin- 
colns kept a fire burning to shut out the cold. Here they 
spent their first winter — in fact, their first year in Indiana. 
By another fall they had cleared a patch of ground, 
had planted it with corn, and had built a new log cabin. 
A happy year in the new home went quickly by, and 
then a great sorrow came. A sickness had broken out 
in the neighborhood, and Nancy Lincoln took it and died' 

326 




Sarah Bush Lincoln — Lincoln's Step. 
Mother. 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

Her husband built a board coffin, and the family and 
neighbors carried her a little distance from home and 
buried her. 

Then the two children followed their father back to the 
desolate house, where- the little girl made shift to do her 
mother's work. 




Lincoln Reading at Night. 



Before long the influence of another good woman came 
into Abraham's life. Late in 1819 Thomas Lincoln mar- 
ried a Kentucky widow and brought her to Indiana. She 
was a sensible, happy, thrifty woman; and Abraham soon 
loved and respected her. 

Abraham was very fond of studying and went to school 
whenever a teacher came along to make this possible, 

327 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Most of his reading was done at night when the day's 
work was finished. Then the boy would curl up near the 
fireplace and read by the light of the flames. " Robinson 
Crusoe," "Pilgrim's Progress/' "^sop's Fables/' a his- 
tory of the United States, and the Bible, he read over and 
over. These were his favorites. 

From the time Abraham was ten years old he was kept 
busy. When not needed at home, he was hired out to the 
neighbors at twenty-five cents a day, which was paid 
to his father. Young Lincoln was very obliging, very 
capable, and, as he grew older, very powerful. He could 
and would do any sort of work there was to be done. It 
was not that he really liked to work. He didn't. But he 
accepted it as part of life and did his duty the best he 
knew how. 

And so with plenty of hard work, many jolly times 
with his comrades, a little schooling, and all the reading 
and studying he could find time for, the years passed by, 
and the boy grew up and became a man. 



LINCOLN STARTS OUT FOR HIMSELF 

In February, 1830, Abraham Lincoln became of age. 
Now he was free to use his time as he liked and to keep 
the money he earned. But that very month saw a great 
stir in the Lincoln household. Once more the family were 
packing up, saying good-by to friends and neighbors, 
and making ready for another move farther west, this 
time to Illinois. 

Two weeks they traveled before they reached the place 
where they were to build their new cabin. In a short 
time the cabin was done. And then such a chopping as 
went on before the men had made rails enough to fence in 
ten acres of ground! They must have worked fast in- 

328 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

deed, because they not only split the rails but put up the 
fence, broke the ground, and raised a crop of corn on it 
that same year. 

Within a few miles of his father's new house there 
lived a woman who could weave a material called jeans. 
As Lincoln had no respectable clothes, he went to her 




Lincoln's Trip to New Orleans on a Flat Boat. 

and made a bargain to split four hundred rails for each 
yard of brown jeans necessary to make him a pair of 
trousers. 

Now that he had helped his father move and settle, 
Lincoln decided to start out for himself. When he left 
home, he left empty-handed. He had nothing at all to 
take with him. Even his looks were not prepossessing. 
He was six feet four inches tall, his hands and feet were 

329 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

large, his legs and arms long and loose-jointed. But his 
muscles were like iron, his endurance remarkable, and his 
courage beyond question. 

In the spring of 1831 Lincoln made a trip to New Or- 
leans on a flatboat belonging to a Mr. Offutt. For a 
month he stayed in New Orleans seeing life as he had 
never seen it before. 

One phase of life in the great city sickened Lincoln. 
This was the horrors of slave trade. For the first time he 
now saw men and women sold like animals in a public 
market. He saw them in chains, saw them whipped; and 
the cruelty of it all raised in him a hatred of slavery, 
which lasted all his life. 

When the New Orleans trip was over, Lincoln went to 
New Salem, Illinois, to be a clerk in Mr. Offutt's store. 

New Salem was a little town of about fifteen houses 
and a hundred people. Its women came to the store for 
supplies; its men came to lounge, tell stories, and talk 
politics. With all of them Lincoln was soon in favor; 
for was he not the kindest, the most amusing, the most 
honest man that had ever come to New Salem? 

He walked several miles one evening after the store 
was closed to return six cents to a woman who had over- 
paid him. Once a customer came in for half a pound of 
tea just at closing time. In the dim light Lincoln weighed 
out the tea. Next morning he found that he had taken a 
wrong weight and so had given this customer too little 
by half. So shutting up shop he carried another quarter 
of a pound to the belated buyer. For such things New 
Salem named him "Honest Abe." 

In the spring of 1832 there was an Indian uprising, 
known as the Black Hawk War. The frontier settlers 
were in terror, and the Governor called for volunteers to 
repel the savages. Lincoln was chosen captain of the 

330 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

company from his neighborhood, and marched off to war. 
In about three months the war was over, and Lincoln was 
back in New Salem without having fought in a single 
battle. 

By this time Mr. Offutt's store had proved a failure 
and was closed. Lincoln looked about for work. Every- 
thing considered, keeping store suited him best. As none 
of the three grocers of New Salem needed a clerk, he and a 
young man named Berry decided to buy one of the stores. 
Before they got through with it, they had bought all three 
— or at least they had taken the stock of all three and had 
promised to pay for it when they could. 

The partnership was not a fortunate one. Lincoln 
wanted so to read and study that he left the management 
of the store largely to Berry; and Berry was unreliable 
and worthless. Business was slack, and Lincoln gladly 
accepted the position of postmaster when it was offered 
him the next spring. 

The duties of postmaster at New Salem were not very 
heavy. The mail usually consisted of a dozen or fifteen 
letters and a few newspapers. The letters Lincoln carried 
about in his hat until he saw the people to whom they 
were addressed. The newspapers he opened and read 
through before he handed them over. 

One day soon after Lincoln and Berry opened their 
store a man drove up. He had in his wagon a barrel, 
which he asked Lincoln to buy. On dumping it to see 
what it held, Lincoln discovered a book which proved to 
be a standard authority on law. He had often wished 
that he could study law; so he wasted no time in getting 
to work on this book, which good fortune had tossed in 
his way. 

People were now beginning to flock into Illinois. This 
meant that much land must be surveyed. The county 

331 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

surveyor needed all the help he could get; and he offered 
to make Lincoln a deputy surveyor if he would learn to 
do the necessary work. In six weeks Lincoln reported 
that he was ready to begin. 

Although his surveying brought him in more money 
than any other work he had tried, he did not get ahead 
very fast. There was the store with its heavy debt. Un- 
der Berry's management, conditions there grew worse 
and worse, until the partners were so discouraged that it 
was given up. A few months later Berry died, leaving on 
Lincoln's shoulders the responsibility of paying off their 
debt of eleven hundred dollars. "That debt/' said Lin- 
coln, "was the greatest obstacle I ever met in my life. 
There was however but one way. I went to the creditors 
and told them that if they would let me alone, I would give 
them all I could earn over my living as fast as I could earn 
it." Fifteen years later he was still sending money to 
Illinois to pay this debt. But " Honest Abe " at last paid 
every cent. 

LINCOLN THE LAWYER 

The summer of 1834 was a busy one for Lincoln. His 
surveying took him much about the country. Every- 
where he met new acquaintances and won many friends. 
And the kindness shown him encouraged him to try for a 
place in the Legislature. He won. 

Hardly was the campaign over when he began to study 
law again. He threw himself into the work heart and 
soul. Before long he was able to write deeds and other 
legal papers for his neighbors. 

That winter and the next he spent in the Legislature, 
coming back to New Salem for the summer between — the 
summer of 1835 — to go on with his law study and sur- 
veying. 

332 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

In September, 1836, he was admitted to the bar. An- 
other winter was given to the Legislature. And then in. 
the spring of 1837 Lincoln moved to Springfield to accept 
a partnership with John T. Stuart. 

He rode into town " on a borrowed horse, with no earths 
ly property save a pair of saddlebags containing a few 
clothes." Being asked to room with a friend, he climbed 
the stairs, put his saddlebags on the floor, and announced, 
"Well, I'm moved." 

Now came the years of building up a practice, and 
making a legal reputation. 

When he had been a while in the town, a certain Miss 
Mary Todd came there to live with her married sister. 
She and Lincoln met, fell in love, and in 1842 were married,. 

LINCOLN THE POLITICIAN 

For four terms Abraham Lincoln served in the Illinois 
Legislature. For one term he was a member of the Na- 
tional Congress. The term ended in the spring of 1849. 
He came home with the intention of dropping out of politics, 
and devoting his time to h'is law practice and his children. 

But these were the days of the great disputes over the 
spread of slavery. And how could a man be indifferent 
who had seen only the awful side of slavery, first in the 
New Orleans slave market and then in the slave market 
at Washington? 

For a time it seemed that Henry Clay's compromises 
had settled the question of slavery in America's western 
lands. According to the Missouri compromise, Missouri 
had come into the Union as a slave state on the condition 
that all the states which should be formed from the land 
north and west of Missouri's southern boundary should be 
free forever. 

23 333 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Clay's second compromise admitted California as a 
free state, leaving the people on the rest of the land ob- 
tained from Mexico to decide for themselves whether their 
states should be free or slave. 

This was all well and good and apparently gratified 
North and South alike. However, four short years after 




Clay's second compromise was adopted, both sides were all 
excitement again. 

In 1854 Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois brought up in 
Congress a bill to make two territories of the lands beyond 
Missouri and the Missouri River. The northern of these 
territories was to be called Nebraska; the southern one, 

334 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

Kansas. And Mr. Douglas wanted the people of Kansas 
and Nebraska to be allowed to choose for themselves 
whether or not they should have slaves. 

The North protested loudly against Douglas's bill. 
But in spite of the protest, Congress passed it, thus re- 
pealing the Missouri compromise. 




A Scene at the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. 



And now would the new territories be for or against 
slavery? The South was anxious that they should adopt 
the slave system. The North was determined that they 
should be free. 

With the repeal of the Missouri compromise in 1854 
Lincoln's interest in the slave question became so intense 
that he once more entered politics. And when in the fall 

335 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

of that year Stephen A. Douglas spoke in Springfield, 
justifying the repeal, it was Lincoln who was called upon 
to answer his arguments. This was only the first of many 
public debates on slavery between Lincoln and the " Little 
Giant," as Douglas was called. 

In his speeches Lincoln voiced his honest opinion of 
the great question that was uppermost in all men's minds. 
He held that in the words "all men are created equal/' 
the Declaration of Independence meant to say that black 
as well as white men were entitled to " life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness." He said that he firmly believed 
that slavery should not be allowed in new states; and he 
stoutly asserted that the Government could not go on 
half slave and half free; that the future would see the whole 
country united on one policy in regard to the holding of 
negro slaves. 

Most of the debates between Lincoln and Douglas were 
during the campaign of 1858, when the two men were 
rival candidates for the office of United States Senator. 
When the campaign was over, Lincoln was recognized as 
the abler talker, but Douglas had been elected to the 
Senate. 

But could Lincoln have looked even a little way into 
the future, he would have understood that he had no 
occasion to be disheartened over this defeat. 

" Who is this man that is replying to Douglas in your 
state? Do you realize that no greater speeches have been 
made on public questions in the history of our country? ' : 
wrote a prominent eastern statesman. And this states^ 
man's letter voiced the reputation which Lincoln's sound 
logic, his insight into the subject, and his simple direct 
style were making for him all over the country. 

The year 1860 was the time for the election of a new 
National President. This office is the highest honor the 

336 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN BEFORE 1861 

country can give, and Lincoln was nominated the Re- 
publican candidate for the Presidency. 

Election day that year came on the 6th of November. 
By daylight Springfield was astir. About eight o'clock 
Mr. Lincoln went as usual to his room in the State House 
and calmly began to look over his mail. But if Mr. Lin- 
coln was calm, his friends were not. They rushed in and 
out of his room until some one suggested that it might be 
well for him to shut them out and rest. No, indeed. 
Never in his life had he closed his door on his friends, and 
he did not intend to begin it now. So all day they came 
and went, until it was time for Lincoln to go home to 
supper. 

A little after seven he was back, and now came the 
excitement of waiting for news from the different parts 
of the country. It was nearly morning before the reports 
were all received, and Lincoln announced that he " Guessed 
he'd go home now." He had been elected President of the 
United States. 

Summary 

In 1854, Congress passed a bill introduced by Stephen A. 
Douglas of Illinois, which provided that the disputed land west 
of Missouri and the Missouri River should be divided into two 
territories, Kansas and Nebraska, with the privilege of choosing 
for themselves whether they should have slaves. This action 
repealed the Missouri Compromise. — When Mr. Douglas de- 
fended his bill, he was answered in a strong speech by Abraham 
Lincoln, a lawyer of Illinois. — Lincoln's speeches against slavery, 
and his wisdom as a lawyer and a member of the State Legisla- 
ture made him recognized by the Republican Party as a fit man 
for the Presidency of the United States. He was elected in 1860. 



337 



XXXIV 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR 

THE DIVISION OF THE UNION 

Although Lincoln was elected President in Novem- 
ber, I860, he was not inaugurated until March, 1861. In 
those four months great changes took place in the South. 

When the thirteen American colonies joined together 
to form the United States, slavery was general. One 
by one, however, the northern states became convinced 
that slavery was doing them more harm than good. So 
slavery was abolished in the North. The South still held 
to it. 

Then, having recognized the evils of the slave system, 
the North naturally wanted to keep it out of any new 
states which might come into the Union. The South, on 
the other hand, saw no harm in holding slaves and wanted 
slavery spread into America's western lands. At last, 
through this struggle for the control of the new states, the 
South came to believe that the North meant to crush 
slavery even in those of the original thirteen states which 
still favored it. 

This was not true. And time and again Mr. Lincoln 
and the Republican party which elected him stated that 
their great desire and firm purpose was to shut slavery 
from the new states, not to interfere with it in the South. 

Still the South persisted in believing that their theory 
was right. And the very month after Lincoln's election, 

338 



LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR 

South Carolina withdrew from the Union. By the 1st of 
February six other slave states had followed South Caro- 
lina's example, and before many days these seven had 
formed a government of their own and named themselves, 
The Confederate States of America. 

The six states to follow South Carolina from the Union 




The Inauguration of Lincoln. 



were Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, 
and Texas. A few months later Arkansas, North Carolina, 
Virginia, and Tennessee joined the Confederate States and 
raised their new flag in place of the stars and stripes. 

No sooner had the seven southern states declared 
themselves out of the Union than they began to seize upon 
the United States forts and arsenals within their limits. 

339 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

This was the state of affairs when Abraham Lincoln left 
Springfield and journeyed to Washington, where he was 
inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1861. 

The new President fully realized the gravity of the 
responsibility which had fallen upon him. In his inau- 
gural address he went over the situation. But while he 
denied the right of the southern states to secede from the 
Union and vowed to do all in his power to " preserve, pro- 




Firing on Fort Sumter. 



tect, and defend it," he assured the southern sympa- 
thizers that if civil war came it would be the South that 
would start it. 

One month went by, and then the South put a final 
end to all hope of peace between herself and the North. 
A southern general demanded the surrender of Fort Sum- 
ter, in Charleston Harbor. The officer in charge refused. 
Whereupon, on April 12th, southern batteries opened fire 
on Fort Sumter and kept on firing until the fort was sur- 
rendered. 

340 



LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR 

This was too much. The North was ablaze with re- 
sentment. So when Lincoln called for seventy-five thou- 
sand men to defend the Union, more than ninety thousand 
enlisted. Washington was turned into a veritable camp 
and put into a state of defense. The men of the South 
were hurrying to join the Confederate army and rushing 
to the protection of Richmond, the capital of the Confed- 
erate States. 

" On to Washington! " was the cry of the South. "On 
to Richmond!" rang throughout the North. 



JULY, 1861— SEPTEMBER, 1862 

In July, 1861, the two armies met on the banks of the 
little Virginia stream, Bull Run. In the beginning the 
Confederates fell back before the onslaught of the Union 
troops. Then the southern general, Jackson, came to their 
rescue. And so like a stone wall did he and his men stand 
their ground that he was ever after called "Stonewall 
Jackson." First the Union advance was checked, and 
then the Union troops were driven from the field. 

Now came a time of comparative quiet, while each side 
laid its plans and drilled its forces. Part of the North's 
plan was to close the ports of the southern states and 
so keep them from getting supplies from abroad. Well- 
armed ships were stationed near the mouth of each har- 
bor and did valiant work, capturing hundreds of vessels 
which tried to run the blockade. 

Eight days after the firing on Fort Sumter, the Con- 
federates had seized the United States navy yard at Nor- 
folk, Virginia. But before they succeeded in getting pos- 
session, its Union commander had destroyed the shops 
and ships. One ship, the Merrimac, had burned to the 
water's edge and then had sunk. 

341 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Soon discovering that her engines were not damaged, 
the Confederates raised the Merrimac and rebuilt her. 
This time she was covered with plates of iron, mounted 
with large cannon, and made into an ironclad war vessel. 

When the ironclad Merrimac was ready, she put to 
sea and set out to attack the three wooden vessels from 
the North, which were riding at anchor in Hampton Roads. 
Two of the three Union ships opened fire on the strange- 




The "Merrimac" and the "Monitor." 

looking sea monster. Their shots could not pierce her iron 
plates, and the Merrimac came on unharmed. 

Steadily, steadily she drew near the Cumberland, until, 
with a mighty crash, she tore a gaping hole in the wooden 
ship. In rushed the water, and the Cumberland filled and 
sank. 

Then turning to the Congress, the Merrimac forced this 
second ship to surrender, set it on fire, and left it to its 
fate. 

The next morning the Merrimac came sailing out to 
destroy the Minnesota, the last of the three Northern 

342 



LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR 

ships. But there beside the Minnesota lay another vessel 
— a queer-looking affair "like a cheese box mounted on a 
raft." It was the new Union warship, the Monitor; and 
It, too, was ironclad. 

Never before had two ironclad vessels engaged in bat- 
tle. For hours they fought without being able to do each 
other serious damage. The little Monitor had saved the 
Minnesota and had held in check the dreaded Merrimac. 
A new era for naval warfare had begun. 

The Merrimac had done all the damage she was ever 
to do. Some weeks later the Confederates were forced to 
give up Norfolk, and before they went they destroyed 
their ironclad vessel. 

The news that the Monitor had repulsed the Merrimac 
must have been to Lincoln a ray of encouragement in a 
storm of troubles. When the war began, every one felt 
that a few short weeks would bring its close. But nearly 
a year had gone by, and still there were no signs of peace. 
And -everywhere were people willing to blame the coun- 
try's President because things had not turned out as they 
had expected. Officers placed in high command proved 
unfitted for their work. Soldiers deserted, and still others 
turned cowards in the hour of battle. 

As commander in chief, Lincoln looked into these 
cases; and while he was severe on willful insubordination, 
he was always ready to give a man the benefit of the least 
doubt. " Leg cases " was the name he gave for cowardice 
in the face of the enemy. And he was inclined ,to show 
pity to such offenders "because," he said, "if Almighty 
God has given a man a cowardly pair of legs, how can he 
help running away with them?" 

The doorkeepers at the White House had standing or- 
ders to admit every person who came seeking a pardon 
for some one condemned to death. In every way Lincoln 

343 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

did all in his power to lessen the burden of those made to 
suffer through the war. 

In the East the army was still trying to take Richmond, 
and the Confederates were still successfully fighting them 
off. Late in the summer of 1862 the southern general, 
Lee, crossed the Potomac and attempted to march on 
Philadelphia. 

The Union troops hurried to stop him. The two forces 
met at Antietam, where, on September 17th, they fought 
one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The "Boys in 
Blue " defeated the " Boys in Gray " and drove them back 
across the river. But even with so signal a success to 
encourage them, the North could not see that the South 
was any nearer, giving up than in the beginning. 

JANUARY, 1863— APRIL, 186^ 

Lincoln constantly turned the situation over in his 
mind. For weeks he thought about it, until certain facts 
came to stand out from the rest clear and unquestioned. 
He was convinced that slavery was not only the cause of 
the war, but that it was also the means by which the 
South was keeping up her strength. Did not the slaves 
raise crops with which to supply the southern army and 
carry those supplies to the camps? And were they not 
of the greatest help to the troops in the digging of trenches, 
the building of fortifications, and the daily work of camp 
life? To take away the slaves would be to strike a hard 
blow at the Confederate strength. 

When elected President, Lincoln truthfully said that 
he had no intention of interfering with slavery in the 
South. However, at that time he had taken an oath to 
preserve, protect, and defend the Union. There now 
seemed but one way to keep that oath. This was to free 

344 



LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR 



the slaves. So on New Year's Day, 1863, Abraham Lincoln 
issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which gave free- 
dom to more than three million slaves living in the Con- 
federate States. 

Month after month the war went on. In June, 1863, 
General Lee made another effort to invade Pennsylvania, 
and for the second 
time crossed the Po- 
tomac. There were 
seventy thousand 
men in his army 
when it reached Get- 
tysburg, and there he 
entered into a three- 
day battle with the 
Northern troops. But 
when, on the third 
day, utterly defeated, 
he fell back into Vir- 
ginia, he had lost 
more than twenty 
thousand. This was 
the last attempt to 
enter Pennsylvania. 

The Northern army President Lincoln and His Son "Tad" 

too, had lost heavily. 

This battle of Gettysburg is the greatest and the saddest 

in our history. 

While the Eastern armies were fighting at Gettysburg, 
another battle was taking place in the West. The Union 
General had been trying for weeks to capture the Con- 
federate city of Vicksburg. Day and night he had kept 
up his attack. Night and day his big guns went on 
shelling the city. At last, on July 4th, the very day 

345 




A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

after the Union success at Gettysburg, Vicksburg sur- 
rendered. 

The persistent general who had won this victory was 
Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln soon saw in him the one man 
who could put an end to the war; and in March, 1864, 
Grant was given command of all the Union armies. 

At once he made his plans and began to carry them 
out. Battle followed battle all through that year. In 
April, 1865, Grant finally raised the stars and stripes over 
the city of Richmond and a few days later received the 
surrender of General Lee and his army. 

That very month the four years' struggle came to an 
end. The Civil War was closed, and the Union was saved. 

LINCOLN'S DEATH 

In the White House the President's family are at 
breakfast. All are happy, for Robert, the eldest son, has 
just come home from serving as General Grant's aid-de- 
camp. 

There is much for Lincoln and his boy to talk over. 
But some of it must be kept for another time, as this is a 
morning on which the President meets his cabinet. 

By afternoon he is free. The carriage is called, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln drive out together. The long years 
of the war have saddened Lincoln's face and cut deep 
lines in it. But to-day the lines are softened, and the 
face is bright. 

With a smile he turns to Mrs. Lincoln. "Mary," he 
says, "we have had a hard time of it since we came to 
Washington; but the war is over, and, with God's blessing, 
we may hope for four years of peace and happiness; and 
then we will go back to Illinois, and pass the rest of our 
lives in quiet." 

346 



LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR 



Many a friend receives a hearty greeting, many an ac- 
quaintance a cordial bow. And late in the afternoon the 
drive is over. 

Then comes dinner. And all too soon it is eight o'clock, 
and Mr. Lincoln is due at the theater. This is the 14th of 
April, 1865— the night 
of a benefit perform- 
ance; and guests have 
been invited to share a 
box with Mr. and Mrs. 
Lincoln. 

When they reach 
the theater the play 
has already begun. 
But the people in the 
crowded house are 
watching the Presi- 
dent's box; and, catch- 
ing sight of his tall 
figure, they rise from 
their seats and wel- 
come him with cheers, 
while the orchestra 
strikes up " Hail to the 
Chief!" 

The play goes on. It is good, and Lincoln listens and 
laughs and enjoys it all. 

The players are going through the third act. The 
people are pleased and do not notice a pale, handsome 
man who is making his way toward the President's box. 
Quietly he slips in, stands one instant behind Lincoln, 
and then deliberately aims a pistol at him and fires. 

The shot rings out. A woman screams. The mur- 
derer leaps to the stage and escapes. All is now confusion. 

347 




Ford's Theater where Lincoln 
was Shot. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



Some try to follow the murderer; some try to reach the 

Lincoln box. But in the midst of all the uproar, the 

President sits quiet. His head 
has fallen forward on his 
breast. 

Strong arms lift him and 
carry him from the theater to 
a modest brick house across 
the way. He is put to bed. 
His son and friends are sum- 
moned, and all watch beside 
him through the night. 

They have no hope. The 
assassin has done his work. 
Slowly the hours drag by. 
The dawn comes. It is a lit- 
tle after seven, and Abraham 

Lincoln has ceased to breathe. 

The watchers bow their heads. A prayer is said; and 

in the stillness a solemn voice proclaims, " Now he belongs 

to the ages." 




House where Lincoln Died. 



Summary 

The Republican Party, which elected Lincoln President of 
the United States, did not intend to interfere with slavery where 
it already existed. They were only trying to prevent the spread 
of slavery into the new states and territories of the Union. The 
South believed the Republicans meant to put an end to slavery 
in all the states. As they held that every state had the right 
to decide this question for itself, seven of the southern states 
seceded from the Union before Lincoln was inaugurated in 
1861. These states formed an independent government, called 
the Confederate States of America. Later they were joined by 
four other southern states. President Lincoln determined to 

348 



LINCOLN AND THE CIVIL WAR 

preserve the Union at any cost. — In April, 1861, the South seized 
Fort Sumter in Charlestown Harbor, thereby opening war against 
the Government. — President Lincoln called for troops to invade 
the South. — The Government attempted to blockade the southern 
ports. This resulted in a naval warfare, during which, in 1862, 
iron-clad vessels were used for the first time in history. — In order 
to cripple the South, on January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the 
Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in the 
country free men. — The greatest battle of the war was at Gettys- 
burg, Pennsylvania, in 1863. After three days of fighting, the 
southern armies under General Lee were defeated. — In the West, 
General Grant captured Vicksburg and other Confederate forts. 
— In 1864, President Lincoln appointed General Grant com- 
mander of all the Union forces. — In April, 1865, Grant brought 
the war to a close by the capture of Lee's army and of the Con- 
federate capital at Richmond, Virginia. — On April 14, 1865, 
within a week after the surrender, President Lincoln was as- 
sassinated. 



24 



XXXV 

ULYSSES S. GRANT 

YOUNGER DAYS 



Ulysses S. Grant's father was a tanner in Georgetown, 
Ohio, and owned considerable land outside of the city. 
Ulysses disliked the tanning business, but loved the farm, 
especially when he could use the horses. And from the 
time he was eleven until he was seventeen, he did all the 
plowing and hauling, besides taking care of the cows and 
horses, sawing the firewood, and going to school. 

Just before Ulysses was seventeen, he received an ap- 
pointment as a cadet to the United States Military Acad- 
emy and, in May, 1839, went to West Point. 

The four years at West Point passed rather slowly but 
pleasantly enough for Grant. He never stood very high 
in his classes. In French his work was such that he him- 
self said, "If the class had been turned the other end fore- 
most, I should have been near the head." On being 
graduated from West Point, he was commissioned an 
officer in the United States Infantry. 

In 1844 the regiment to which Grant belonged was 
ordered to Louisiana. The young soldier was soon to 
have his first taste of real war. 

Some years before, the great state of Texas had made 
herself independent of Mexico, to which she had formerly 
belonged. She now asked to become a part of the United 
States and, in 1845, was taken into the Union. But the 

350 



xrn 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 



Mexicans were not willing to grant her as much land as she 
claimed. Texas said that her territory extended to the 
Rio Grande River. Mexico denied this, and said that it 
extended only to the Nueces River, about one hundred 
miles north of the Rio Grande. An American army then 
seized the disputed land — a step which the Mexicans nat- 
urally resented. Blood was shed, and the result was war 
declared between the United States and Mexico in 1846* 
This war, General Grant said in later years, was "one of 
the most unjust ever waged 
by a stronger against a 
weaker nation." 

However, whether Grant 
thought the war was just or 
unjust made no difference. 
It was his duty as a soldier 
to fight at his country's call. 
Late in the summer of 1846, 
the army under General 
Taylor was headed for Mon- 
terey, one of the important 
places on the road to "the 
City of Mexico. 

Monterey was built on a 
high plane, at the entrance to a pass in the Sierra Madre 
Mountains. The town was well defended. Upon the low 
flat-roofed houses were soldiers, protected by rows of sand 
bags. Over the tops of these sand bags the Mexicans 
could shoot with but little danger of being struck them- 
selves. And it was only after a four-day battle- that the 
American troops succeeded in taking the town. 

During this battle Lieutenant Grant performed a most 
daring feat. Ammunition was getting low, and some one 
had to go for more. It was a dangerous ride; and as the 

351 




A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

General in command did not like to ask anyone to take 
the risk, he called for a volunteer. Grant promptly re- 
sponded. Hanging over the farther side of his horse he 
galloped through the streets so fast that the enemy's shots 
were always too late to strike him. 

At another time, when near the City of Mexico, he 
caught sight of a church with a high steeple. With a few 
men he took a cannon up into the belfry and showered 
shots upon the enemy. 

The city was finally taken, and a treaty was arranged 
between the United States and Mexico. By the terms of 
this treaty Texas extended her territory to the Rio Grande, 
as she had claimed, and New Mexico and California were 
secured to the United States. In return, the United 
States paid Mexico $15,000,000. 



FARMER, BUSINESS MAN, AND GENERAL 

For the next few years Grant remained in the army. 
In the meantime he married. Finding that he could not 
support a family on the pay of an army officer, he resigned 
his position and became a farmer near St. Louis, Missouri. 
Here he lived for four years, working hard in good weather 
and bad, until fever and ague forced him to give up farm 
life. 

In 1860 he went to Galena, Illinois, where his father 
had a store; and in this store he clerked until President 
Lincoln's first call for volunteers. 

Then he was selected to take charge of the volunteers 
of the town, drill them, and take them to Springfield, where 
they would be assigned to a regiment. 

Grant was soon made Colonel of a regiment in General 
Pope's division of the Union army, and in August was 
promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. 

352 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 



At this time the Confederates held forts along the 
Mississippi River from its mouth to Columbus, Kentucky. 
They had also Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, and 
Fort Henry on the Tennessee. General Grant saw the 
importance of taking these two forts and gaining control 
of this section of the enemy's country. 

Fort Henry was the first point of attack. Here the 
gunboats had the advantage. While Grant with his land 



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forces was wading through the flooded creeks and the 
deep mud of the roads, Commodore Foote sailed up and 
took the fort. 

At Fort Donelson it was different. For three days the 
land and naval forces carried on a siege. Then the com- 
mander of the Confederates asked Grant what terms would 
be allowed if the fort were given up. Grant replied, " No 
terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender 

353 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

can be accepted." This was characteristic of General 
Grant. He was the kindest of men to a conquered enemy, 
but he was firm and would not budge an inch before he 
had gained a victory. After the siege of Fort Donelson 
people said that Grant's initials stood for "unconditional 
surrender." 

The surrender of Nashville soon followed the capture 
of Fort Donelson, and General Grant with his victorious 
soldiers marched along the Tennessee River to Shiloh. 
Here they were attacked and driven back. But the next 
day, more Union troops having come, Grant again won a 
great victory. 

Another post of vast importance held by the South 
was Vicksburg, and in the spring of 1863 Grant laid siege 
to that city. Never was a city more nobly defended than 
was Vicksburg. Week after week Grant and Sherman 
kept up their attack by day and by night. Within the 
besieged city the food became so scarce that a soldier had 
only one cracker and a small piece of pork for a day's 
rations. During the last days the Confederates were 
compelled to use cats and rats for food. 

In some places the Union and Confederate lines were 
so close that the Confederates would call across, "Well, 
Yank, when are you coming into town?" 

"We propose to celebrate the Fourth of July there," 
the Union men would call back. 

"The Yankee soldiers say they are going to take dinner 
in Vicksburg on the Fourth," said the Vicksburg paper. 
" The best receipt for cooking a rabbit is, ' First catch your 
rabbit.'" The last issue of the newspaper was printed on 
the back of wall paper on the Fourth of July and admitted 
that the Yankees had " caught their rabbit." Vicksburg 
had fallen. 

When the Yankee soldiers entered the city, all hard 
354 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 

feelings between the two armies were at an end. " I my-* 
self," said General Grant, "saw our men taking bread 
from their haversacks and giving it to the enemy they had 
been so recently engaged in starving out." When the 
Confederate soldiers passed out of the works they had 
defended so bravely, not a cheer nor an insulting word 
was uttered by the Union soldiers. 

After the battle of Chattanooga in the following No- 
vember, President Lincoln saw that the one man who 
ought to be at the head of the whole army was General 
Grant. So he made him Lieutenant General, with the power 
to manage the rest of the war according to his own ideas. 



LIEUTENANT GENERAL AND PRESIDENT 

When Ulysses S. Grant took command of the Union- 
forces, there were two Confederate armies in the field, — 
one under General Johnston in Georgia, the other under 
General Robert E. Lee, in Virginia. General Grant de- 
cided that he himself would lead the Army of the Potomac- 
and march against Lee. Sherman was to conquer John- 
ston, and then push his way through Georgia to the sea. 
They were to hammer away at the two Confederate armies- 
at the same time. 

General Philip Sheridan was put in charge of the cav-- 
alry of the Army of the Potomac, and made it his business 
to torment Lee's army as much as possible. He captured 
its supplies in the Shenandoah Valley. He destroyed miles 
of railroad and telegraph lines. He defeated Lee's cavalry 
in several battles. In fact he made the United States 
cavalry seem like a swarm of hornets, buzzing around the 
Confederate army. He burned so many barns, and mills 
stored with grain, that some one said, " If a crow wants to 
fly down the Valley, he must carry his provisions with him." 

355 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

In the meantime General Grant and General Sherman 
were "hammering away" at the enemy. Sherman went 
first to Atlanta, conquering the troops that he met on the 



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way. Then, having taken Atlanta and destroyed every- 
thing that might be of use to the Southern army, he began 
his famous march to the sea. On the 22d of December, 
1864, Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln, "I beg 

356 



ULYSSES S. GRANT 

to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah."' 
His army had mowed down everything in the way and 
had reached the coast. He now turned northward to 
march through the Carolinas and advance upon Lee from 
the south. 

But General Grant did not need Sherman's help. He 
had met the Confederates in several fierce battles in the 




The Surrender of General Lee. 

"Wilderness," the desolate woody region south of the 
Rapidan River. His losses had been great; but in spite 
of everything he would not turn back. "I propose to 
fight it out on this line if it takes all summer," he insisted. 
Then he turned his attention to Petersburg, south of Rich- 
mond; and the city was captured on April 2, 1865. 

On the fall of Petersburg, Lee withdrew his army along 
357 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

"the Appomattox River. The next day, April 3d, the 
Union army marched into Richmond; and for the first 
time in four years the stars and stripes floated over the 
capital of the Confederacy. 

It was at Appomattox Court House, about seventy-five 
miles west of Richmond, that General Lee, Commander in 
Chief of the Confederate army, finally surrendered to Gen- 
eral Grant. This was a few days after the fall of Rich- 
mond. General Lee was tall, handsome, and noble look- 
ing. Dressed in a beautiful new Confederate uniform he 
looked most splendid beside the plain, round-shouldered, 
quiet man, in rough soldier's dress, with nothing but the 
straps on his shoulders to tell that he was Lieutenant 
General of the Union army. 

In the terms of surrender Grant's usual kindness 
showed itself. He would not take the officers' swords and 
allowed the soldiers to keep their horses, as they would 
need them for the spring plowing. The men in the Union 
lines, hearing that Lee's army had surrendered, were about 
to fire a salute of one hundred guns in honor of the victory. 
But Grant would not allow his men to rejoice over a fallen 
foe, and forbade the firing. 

When the news of Lee's surrender reached Sherman's 
army, the men went nearly wild with joy. They shouted, 
threw up their caps and turned somersaults. Indeed the 
whole country rejoiced that the long, hard war was ended. 

But into the midst of all the joy came the appalling 
tidings of President Lincoln's assassination. When a new 
President was to be elected in 1868, there was but one 
man great enough for the place. That was the Ohio plow- 
boy, the quiet modest soldier, the Commander in Chief of 
the Army of the United States. 

"Let us have peace," he said in accepting his nomina- 
tion. And during the eight years of his presidency Grant 

358 



ULYSSES S. GEAXT 



fought as hard for peace as ever he had fought in war. 
The Southern States were once more received into the 
Union; and, in 1871, for the first time in more than ten 
years, there was a representation of all the states in Con- 
gress. 

HONORS AND DEATH 

At the end of his second term, General and Mrs. Grant 
took a trip around the world. Great men gathered to see 
them off. Crowds lined the shore, greeting them with 
cheers. Bells rang 
and whistles 
sounded. 

When the 
steamer arrived in 
Liverpool, it was 
welcomed with even 
greater display. In 
France, Germany, 
on the Mediterra- 
nean — everywhere , 
it was the same. At 
last, after traveling 
through Asia, he 
sailed eastward 
across the Pacific to 
San Francisco, and 
was received home 
at the west gate of 
the country. 

On July 23, 
1885, General Grant died. During the hour of the funeral, 
services were held over the entire country. Thousands 
followed his body to the vault where it was laid. 

359 




The Tomb of General Grant. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

April 27th was the anniversary of Grant's birth, and 
on that day in the year 1897 his casket was removed from 
the vault and carried to a splendid mausoleum raised by 
his countrymen on Riverside Drive in New York City. 
Over the portico are his words, "Let us have peace." 



Summary 

Ulysses S. Grant served as an officer in the Mexican War. — 
In the Civil War he was, for a time, commander of the army of 
the West, and later of the entire Union forces. — For eight years 
he was President of the United States. — The Mexican War was 
caused by the United States, in 1846, seizing a tract of disputed 
land between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River. As a lieu- 
tenant under General Taylor, Grant took part in the capture 
of Monterey and the City of Mexico. In 1848, the war was 
closed by a treaty which gave to the United States the disputed 
land and the Mexican territories of New Mexico and California 
in return for $15,000,000.— In 1863, General Grant, by his cap- 
ture of Vicksburg and other Confederate forts proved himself 
a great commander. — As commander of the entire Union forces, 
Grant ordered General Sherman to march across Georgia to the 
sea, in order to prevent General Johnston's army in Georgia 
from joining Lee's in Virginia. Sherman captured Atlanta and 
Savannah and plundered the country between. — Assisted by 
General Sheridan's cavalry, Grant conquered Virginia from the 
Shenandoah Valley to the coast. In April, 1865, General Lee 
surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, and 
the war was ended. — As President of the United States, from 
1869-1877, Grant labored to restore the Southern States to their 
former position in the Union. In 1871, all the states of the 
LTnion were again represented in Congress. 



XXXVI 

ROBERT E. LEE 

BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR 

While reading of the courage and wisdom of the men 
who fought for the Union, one must not forget that there 
were two sides, Among the men who fought for the South 
were some of the bravest soldiers and truest men in all 
history. Numbers of them believed that slavery was 
right; that the negroes were created to be slaves, and that 
only as slaves could they be taken care of. Others knew 
in their hearts that slavery was wrong. But they thought 
that it could not be blotted out in a single day. They 
felt that the negro slaves could not be turned loose as free 
men without homes or means to care for themselves. One 
of the men who believed in this way was Robert E. Lee, 
and it is his story that I am going to tell. 

Between the Rappahannock and the Potomac rivers 
in Virginia lies the county of Westmoreland. Here, in 
the midst of broad lawns and mighty trees stood stately 
Stratford, the home of "Light-Horse Harry Lee," a brave 
cavalry commander of Washington's, during the Revolu- 
tion. And here, in 1807, " Light-Horse Harry Lee's " son, 
Robert E. Lee, was born. 

As he grew older, Robert decided, like his father, to be 
a soldier. He obtained an appointment to West Point 
and entered in 1825. He was graduated second in his 
class and was assigned to the engineer corps of the army. 

361 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



On the Virginia bank of the Potomac near Washington 
stands Arlington, a beautiful old house with broad porti- 
coes. In Lee's youth this was the home of George Wash- 
ington Parke Custis, the adopted son of George Washington. 
One June evening, two years after Robert Lee had left 

West Point, Mr. Custis's 
great house was aglow with 
a hundred lights, and strains 
of wedding music floated out 
across the lawn. Before the 
altar stood the bride and 
groom, Mary Custis and 
Robert E. Lee. It was 
through this marriage that 
Lee later came into posses- 
sion of Arlington. 

From the time of his 
marriage until the outbreak 
of the Mexican War, Lee 
remained an army engineer. 
During the Mexican War 
he did gallant service. The 
war over, he continued his work as engineer. The year 
1852 saw him made superintendent of the military academy 
at West Point. In 1855 Congress formed two new regi- 
ments of cavalry. As Lieutenant Colonel of one of these 
regiments, Lee was sent to Texas, where he was stationed 
until that state seceded from the Union. 




COMMANDER OF THE CONFEDERATE FORCES 

In the life of many men there comes a time when they 
must choose between two things, both of which they 
dearly love. That time had now come to Robert E. Lee. 

362 



ROBERT E. LEE 

During the beautiful days at Arlington, in the spring of 
1861, his soul struggled with the choice between loyalty 
to the Government under which he had fought and loyalty 
to the South. In April, President Lincoln offered him the 
command of the Union army that was being prepared to 
invade the South — to invade his own state, his father's 
state, his home. Lee refused the offer and two days later 
sent in his resignation from the United States army. 

To his sister in Baltimore he wrote, " I have not been 
able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my 
relatives, my children, my home." Having taken his 
stand, Lee went from Washington to Richmond, leaving 
his beautiful Arlington to fall into the hands of the North- 
ern army. In Richmond he was made Commander in 
Chief of the Virginia forces. 

Before long Mr. Jefferson Davis, President of the Con- 
federacy, came to Richmond; and that city was made the 
capital of the Southern Government. General Lee knew that 
Virginia would be the great battlefield for the two armies. 
There were two moves to be made: to defend Richmond, 
and to try to make a counter attack upon Washington. 

On July 21st, the Union troops attacked General 
Beauregard at Manassas, or Bull Run. Beauregard's 
men were beginning to fall back when General Jackson 
advanced upon the center of the Union line and drove the 
troops back to Washington. 

In this case defeat really helped the North more than 
victory helped the South. The North saw that war was 
on in deadly earnest and that serious preparations must 
be made. The South, however, grew overconfident through 
its first victory. 

In 1862 General Lee was made Commander in Chief, 
under Jefferson Davis, of all the armies of the Confederacy; 
and in June he took command of the troops defending 

363 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Richmond. Already the invading army under General 
McClellan had crept so close that the roar of its cannon 
could be heard in the city. Lee planned to attack McClel- 
land army and drive it away. 

Looking about for a man who would have the courage 
and quickness to go out and explore the enemy's right, 
he chose "Jeb" Stuart, a dashing young cavalryman. 
Lee made no mistake in his choice. Within forty-eight 

hours Stuart had rid- 

Battles." By these 
battles Lee suc- 
ceeded in forcing McClellan to retreat, though in the last, 
at Malvern Hill, thousands of the brave Confederates lost 
their lives. 

About two months later the Northern General; Pope, 
led his army against Richmond. Lee and Jackson ad- 
vanced to meet him and won the second battle of Ma- 
nassas, or Bull Run. Pope fell back to Washington, de- 
feated, and gave up his command. 

Then followed Lee's advance across the Potomac and 
his retreat after the terrible battle of Antietam. 

364 



A Pontoon Bridge. 



ROBERT E. LEE 



Late in 1862 General Burnside took charge of the 
Northern army and pushed toward the Rappahannock. 
No sooner had Lee discovered Burnside's move than he 
and his army took possession of the Heights near Freder- 
icksburg, through which Burnside would pass on his way 
to Richmond. At dawn one December morning, when 
Burnside's men tried to throw their pontoon bridges 
across the river, Confederate guns boomed out the signal 
which called Lee's men to arms. Instantly the riflemen 
began to pick off the bridge builders. The Union army 
was delayed on the river bank for 
many hours; and when finally they 
did cross, they found Lee well pre- 
pared and the Confederates stationed 
in the best positions. 

The battle was begun on the 
morning of the 13th. All day long 
the Confederate soldiers, many of 
them barefoot, stood in the Decem- 
ber snow and created havoc among 
the enemy. Only once did General 
Meade, later the victor of Gettys- 
burg, break through a gap in Jack- 
son's lines; and then he was quickly driven back. By 
nighttime Burnside's army had been beaten, and Burnside, 
with the men that were left, recrossed the river. 

In the spring of 1863 "fighting Joe Hooker" was in 
command of the Union forces in Virginia. At the head 
of a splendid army of one hundred and thirty thousand 
men, he felt sure of defeating Lee, who had less than half 
that number. For this purpose he marched toward Chan- 
cellorsville, to the west of Fredericksburg, where Lee's 
army was still encamped. But Lee did not wait for 
Hooker to carry out his plan. With Stonewall Jackson, 
25 365 




A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Lee moved promptly forward and confronted Hooker's 
main body in a tangled forest, only a few miles from 
Chancellorsville. Here a two days' battle took place. 
The Confederates won the fight, but their victory cost the 
life of Stonewall Jackson. 

In June, 1863, came Lee's daring invasion of Pennsyl- 
vania. And in July the South received the double blow 
of Gettysburg and Yicksburg. Lee's army was compelled 
to retreat to Virginia, and from this time on Lee was 
constantly worried about his ragged, hungry men. At 
Richmond his wife and daughters with flying needles 
were knitting socks for the soldiers. The General wrote 
to Mrs. Lee, "Tell the girls to send all they can. I wish 
they could make some shoes too. We have thousands of 
barefooted men." 

SURRENDER 

You remember that in the spring of 1864 General 
Grant was put at the head of the Union army and led the 
Army of the Potomac into Virginia. Then followed the 
terrible Wilderness campaign in which the ranks of the 
Confederates grew steadily thinner, and the men grew 
steadily weaker from lack of food and clothing. 

Yet even in the Wilderness there were victories for 
the Confederates. At Cold Harbor they held back the 
Union lines with frightful slaughter. It was here that a 
hungry soldier had his only cracker shot from his hand. 
"The next time I'll put my cracker in a safe place down 
by the breastworks where it won't get hurt, poor thing," 
he said. 

In spite of much hard fighting, "On to Richmond!" 
was still Grant's cry. He knew that if he could take 
Petersburg to the south of Richmond, it would be an easy 
matter to capture Richmond at last. For over nine long 

366 



ROBERT E. LEE 



months Lee bravely defended Petersburg, his men ever 
growing fewer and weaker, and arms and ammunition be- 
coming scarcer. Between Grant and Sherman the work- 
shops had been destroyed, and there was no way of getting 
new supplies. 

On the first Sunday morning in April, 1865, a boy came 
into the church where Jefferson Davis was listening to the 
sermon and handed him a telegram. It was from Lee. 
" I can no longer defend Petersburg,'' it said. " You must 
give up hope of sav- 
ing Richmond." 

The next day, as 
Grant rode through 
the deserted streets 
of Petersburg, Lee 
was leading his 
army along the 
banks of the Appo- 
mattox. Grant pur- 
sued Lee to Appo- 
mattox Court 
House. Though 
General Lee felt 
that he must save the remainder of his men for their wives 
and children at home, he declared, " I would rather die a 
thousand deaths than surrender." 

There were five houses at the place called Appomattox 
Court House. The largest was a square brick house; and 
here, on April 9, 1865, General Grant and General Lee met 
to arrange the terms of the surrender. 

After the meeting Lee rode up to break the news of his 
surrender to his brave troops. They crowded about him 
eager to shake his hand, to touch his horse; and tears ran 
down their cheeks as they looked upon their beloved 

367 




House where General Grant and Gen- 
. eral Lee Arranged the Terms of 
Surrender. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

leader. "Men," he said, "we have fought through the 
war together. I have done my best for you. My heart is 
too full to say more." 

The war over, the trustees of Washington College in 
Virginia begged Lee to become its President. For five 
years he directed the affairs of the College, beloved by the 
students as he had been by his soldiers. On a September 
day in 1870, he was stricken with an illness from which 
two weeks later- he died. 

From far and near the old Confederate soldiers gathered 
to escort their leader to his last resting place. Behind 
the hearse walked Lee's riderless horse, Traveler, his trap- 
pings all in black. . 

In Richmond there now stands a statue of Lee mounted 
on Traveler. It is a tribute to a great soldier and a true 
gentleman. 

Summary 

In 1861, Robert E. Lee of Virginia was an officer in the army 
of the United States. — When the Civil War began he decided to 
serve the South, and was appointed by Jefferson Davis, Presi- 
dent of the Confederacy, to command the Virginia army. — 
Lee's plan was to defend Richmond, the capital of the Con- 
federacy, and to attack Washington, the National capital. 
Assisted by General Beauregard and "Stonewall" Jackson, he 
ably defended Virginia. — In 1862, General Lee was made com- 
manding general of the Confederate forces, and for some time 
carried on a successful campaign. — After the defeat of Lee's 
army at Gettysburg in 1863, and the surrender of Vicksburg, 
the strength of the South steadily declined. — Lee defended 
Petersburg through a nine months' siege to keep the Union army 
from Richmond, but finally surrendered to General Grant at 
Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865. 



368 



XXXVII 

DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT 

MIDSHIPMAN 

One day a man in a splendid uniform paid a visit to 
David Farragut's father at his home near New Orleans. 
He was Commander Porter of the United States Navy. 
He asked that he be allowed to adopt one of the mother- 
less Farragut boys and train him for a career in the navy. 
The chance was offered to eight-year-old David. David 
wanted to go, and he said good-by to his father whom he 
was never to see again. 

Commander Porter returned to Washington, and David 
went with him. There he met the Secretary of the Navy, 
and was promised a midshipman's warrant as soon as he 
should be ten years old. The promise was not forgotten. 

Not long after he had passed this tenth birthday, his 
foster father was given the command of the frigate Essex 
and took the little midshipman into his service. During 
the War of 1812 the Essex under Porter, with Midshipman 
Farragut on board, started on a cruise around Cape Horn 
to destroy the British whale-fishing in the Pacific. 

On this voyage Farragut found that whatever no one 
else had time to do was a midshipman's work during a 
fight. He carried messages for the Captain, brought powder 
for the gunners, and did his duty so well that when Cap- 
tain Porter sent home his dispatches to the United States, 
David Farragut was one of those mentioned for bravery. 

369 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



OFFICER IN THE NAVY 

For the next few years after the close of the War of 
1812, Farragut sailed the Mediterranean and fought the 
pirates of the West Indies. 

In 1854, he was sent to the Pacific coast, where a navy 
yard was to be built on Mare Island near San Francisco. 
To plan and construct this yard was an important task, 
and Farragut was just the man to do it well. 

Four years were given to the work, and then he re- 
turned to the East. He was now a captain and was given 
command of the Brooklyn, one of the first steam war- 
ships in our navy. After a two years' cruise on the 
Brooklyn, Farragut left the ship and went to Norfolk, 
Virginia. 

A few months later the war between the North and the 
South broke out, and our captain had a new query to 
settle. Farragut was born in the South; his home at 
this time was in Norfolk, and most of his friends were 
Southerners. Now came the question, should he side 
with the South, his old home, or should he follow the 
flag for which he had worked and fought for nearly fifty 
years? 

Farragut and his Norfolk neighbors met daily and dis- 
cussed the great questions before the country. He ex- 
pressed his opinions fearlessly, but he soon saw that his 
friends did not agree with him. One day one of them 
said, "A person of your sentiments cannot live in Nor- 
folk." 

"Very well," he replied, "I will go where I can live 
with such sentiments." And he moved to a little village 
on the Hudson River, called Hastings. 

The time was not far away when the North needed 
just such a man as Farragut. 

370 



DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT 

NEW ORLEANS 

The South held possession of New Orleans and the 
mouth of the Mississippi, both of which the North wanted 
to control; and in 1862 Farragut was ordered to go and 
take them from the South. So with a large Union fleet 
he sailed for the mouth of the Mississippi. 

Once there, it took him two weeks to get the ships 
across a bar formed at the mouth of the river by its mud 
deposits. This was only the first obstacle that lay in the 
path. Beyond the bar, the Confederates had stretched 
across the river two great cables on hulks. Beyond the 
cables were two forts, one on each side of the river; and 
still beyond was a Confederate fleet. 

Farragut's operations were begun by storming the two 
forts for six days and nights, but with no success. Then 
he decided to run his ships past the two forts and on to 
New Orleans. This was easier said than done. First a 
passageway for the ships must somehow be made through 
the cables. To break these the brave commander of the 
steamer Itasca ran her under the fire of both forts straight 
up against the chain. It snapped. The hulks drifted 
apart and made a breach large enough for the warships to 
pass through. 

Soon the signal was given to weigh anchor and move 
up the river. In single file the vessels set out to run the 
gantlet of fire, which was sure to greet them from the forts. 
The Cayuga ran through the breach unharmed; but, as the 
second boat passed the barrier, the guns of the two forts 
blazed forth. The ships' broadsides answered, and flying 
shells filled the air. 

Down the river came a flaming fire ship straight for 
the flagship Hartford. Farragut was helpless to get away. 
The flames from the fire ship leaped up, and soon the Hart- 

371 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

ford was ablaze. Men were detailed to fight the flames 
while all the time the gunners loaded, fired, and reloaded 
their guns. At length the flames were put out, and the 
flagship once more started upstream. 

On went the Union boats. They had passed the bar, 
the cables, and the forts. Ahead of them now lay the 
Confederate fleet. Fiercely did Farragut's ships rush to 
the attack, and in short order they overcame this last 
obstacle to their advance. 

When the people of New Orleans saw the Union fleet 
coming, they became desperate. They sent rafts of burn- 
ing cotton bales downstream. They set fire to cotton- 
laden ships, smashed hogsheads of molasses and sugar, 
and destroyed property right and left to prevent it from 
falling into the hands of the Union men. In the last 
week of April, 1862, Captain Farragut sent men ashore 
at New Orleans to haul down the Confederate flag from the 
public buildings and to run up the stars and stripes instead. 

After the city was taken, the forts were soon captured, 
and the North had control of the mouth of the Mississippi. 



MOBILE BAY 

After the fall of New Orleans the next fort on the Gulf 
to be considered was Mobile Bay, and in 1864 Farragut 
undertook to conquer this port. Two forts near the en- 
trance to the bay protected the city of Mobile, and these 
had to be passed by Farragut's ships before they could 
encounter the Confederate fleet which lay inside the bay. 
In this fleet was an ironclad ram — the Tennessee. 

The Confederates had made great preparations against 
the attack. A triple line of torpedoes had been laid in the 
channel, and the forts had been strengthened in every 
way possible. 

372 



DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT 



Farragut had four ironclad monitors, besides twenty- 
one wooden vessels. He ordered his wooden ships lashed 
together in pairs, a larger with a smaller. Then, with the 
stars and stripes floating from every peak and masthead, 
early on the morning of August 5, 1864, the entrance into 
Mobile Bay was begun. Farragut wanted to lead the 

column in his flagship, 

the Hartford; but his 
officers begged him not 
to do it. They felt 
that the commanding 
officer ought not to be 
exposed to the great- 
est danger. So, to 
please his men, Far- 
ragut gave in, and the 
Hartford, with her 
running mate, took 
second place in the 
column of wooden 
ships. 

In order to see 
things more clearly, 
and to be able to di- 
rect the movements of 
the fleet to better ad- 
vantage, Farragut climbed into the rigging; and, as the 
smoke of the guns became more dense, he went higher and 
higher until he was close under the maintop. Here he had 
a good view of the whole field of battle, and, by bracing 
himself against the shrouds, could use his spyglass. 

The four ironclads were in single file, a little ahead of 
the wooden vessels. The Tecumseh was leading the line. 
Suddenly she ran into a torpedo; and Farragut, from the 

373 




Farragut Entering Mobile Bay, 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

rigging of the Hartford, saw her plunge below the water 
and disappear. The Brooklyn, in the first rank of the 
wooden ships just behind, began to back, and thereby 
caused confusion in the line of ships in the rear. 

This was the supreme moment of Farragut's life. To 
go on meant the raking fire of the forts, the torpedoes, 
the Confederate fleet, and possible victory. To turn back 
meant a crushing and humiliating defeat. 

"Full speed ahead!" he shouted down. And passing 
by the Brooklyn, the Hartford dashed straight at the line 
of torpedoes. As the flagship passed over them, they 
could be heard knocking against the bottom of the ship; 
but none exploded. With the flagship safe beyond this 
danger, the other ships followed; and the attack on the 
Confederate fleet began. 

One Confederate gunboat was destroyed by fire, one 
was captured, and one ran away. Then, coming down 
from the Hartford's rigging, Farragut was just telling his 
signal officer to order his fleet to drop anchor when a 
shout arose. The ironclad Tennessee, which had with- 
drawn from the battle and had been lying under the pro- 
tection of one of the forts, was boldly approaching to fight 
the entire Northern fleet. 

Farragut ordered each of his monitors to attack the 
monster. The wooden vessels also were ordered to charge 
the Tennessee at full speed. Down they rushed upon the 
ironclad, striking her with all their force, although their 
bows were crushed by the blow. The monitors did their 
part by keeping up a ceaseless fire until the Tennessee's 
steering chains were shot away, her smokestack destroyed, 
and her commander wounded. She had made a bold fight 
and lost. To surrender was all that was left for her, and 
she surrendered. 

Thus ended the battle of Mobile Bay. "One of the 
374 






DAVID GLASGOW FARRAGUT 

hardest earned victories of my life, and the most desperate 
battle I ever fought since the days of the old Essex," said 
Farragut. 

Soon after the surrender of the Tennessee, the forts 
were captured, and the victory was complete. 

Farragut 's work in the Gulf was now done, and he sailed 
for the North. Great was the reception given him when 
he reached New York! The citizens formally invited him 
to make his home among them and gave him fifty thou- 
sand dollars to enable him to do so. And for his faithful, 
loyal, continued service to his country, Congress, at the 
close of the war, created a new and higher rank in our 
navy and named David Glasgow Farragut the first Amer- 
ican Admiral. 

Summary 

David Glasgow Farragut was the first and greatest admiral 
of our navy. — He was a southerner who, in 1861, remained loyal 
to the Union.— His greatest victories were at New Orleans and 
Mobile Bay. In 1862 he ran his vessels between the fire of Con- 
federate forts on the Mississippi and took possession of New 
Orleans and the mouth of the river. In Mobile Bay, in 1864, 
his ships fought and captured a Confederate fleet, conquered 
the harbor forts, and opened the port to the Union army. — At 
the close of the war, Congress created in our navy the rank of 
Admiral to which it named Commodore Farragut. 



XXXVIII 
GEORGE DEWEY 

THE HERO OF MANILA 






The splendid battleship Maine rode peacefully at 
anchor in Havana Harbor. Over her floated the stars and 
stripes. Cuba was in revolt against Spain, and the little 
island was suffering tortures from Spanish cruelties; but 
the United States battleship was there to take no part in 
the war. She was a neutral vessel, merely paying a visit 
to the harbor. 

It was the 15th of February, 1898, and the officers 
and sailors aboard the Maine were performing their daily 
duties. Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion, and 
two hundred and sixty-six American seamen were killed. 
The Maine had been blown to pieces, and all that was 
left of the splendid battleship was a mass of wreckage. 

What caused this frightful disaster? Who was re- 
sponsible for the dastardly deed? Was the explosion an 
accident, or was it a piece of Spanish treachery? Ameri- 
cans north, south, east, and west clamored for an explana- 
tion. A Court of Inquiry was appointed to sift the matter 
to the bottom and find the cause. And after many days 
came the report, "The Maine was destroyed by the ex- 
plosion of a submarine mine." 

It was late in March when the Court of Inquiry made 
its report. In April, Congress resolved to recognize the 

376 



GEORGE DEWEY 



independence of Cuba, and demanded that Spain give the 
Cubans their liberty. 

Spain refused. Then the United States resolved to 
take up arms in Cuba's behalf. Troops were called out. 
Ships were sent to blockade the Cuban ports. President 
McKinley telegraphed Commodore George Dewey, in com- 
mand of our Asiatic squadron at Hong Kong, China, to 
go at once to Manila and to capture or destroy the Spanish 
fleet guarding that port. 

With all dispatch Dewey started for the Philippine 




The "Maine." 

Islands, and the last night of April saw his six war vessels 
outlined in the moonlight off Manila Bay. 

Before them opened the harbor, planted with subma- 
rine mines and protected by Spanish batteries. In the 
harbor lay the fleet Dewey had come to "capture or de- 
stroy." And he meant to do it, cost what it might. 
Through the darkness of the night, the moonlight having 
waned, his flagship, the Olympia, led the way. By day- 
light the ships were off Manila and were fired upon by 
five batteries and the Spanish fleet. Two mines exploded 
ahead of Dewey's flagship, but failed to harm it. 

377 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 



In line, one behind another, our ships advanced to 

battle. Commodore Dewey was on the flagship 's bridge. 

At last the moment of attack came, and Captain Gridley 

heard him say, "You may fire when ready, Gridley." 

Our squadron opened fire at 5.41 that morning. About 

7.30 the signal went up 
to stop firing and to 
withdraw from action. 
What had happened? 
The Commodore had 
tried to find out how 
many rounds of am- 
munition were left on 
his ship, and by mis- 
take had been told 
that only fifteen re- 
mained. That could 
not be! But to make 
sure, the ships were 
ordered to withdraw 
from the battle. While 
the crews had break- 
fast, the officers con- 
sulted and learned that 
all was right with the 
ammunition. 

Then back to the 
battle went the Ameri- 
can ships, and in an hour and a half the Spaniards ceased 
firing. Their ships had been sunk, burned, or riddled; 
and Dewey's work was done. 

Throughout May and June the war went on. Then in 
July an American fleet destroyed another Spanish fleet in 
the harbor of Santiago. And a few days later the city of 

378 




Dewey on the Bridge of the 
"Olympia." 



GEORGE DEWEY 

Santiago was surrendered to an American army. The 
Spaniards had now had enough and sought terms of peace. 
The treaty which closed the war gave the Cubans their 
freedom and ceded to the United States Porto Rico and 
the Philippine Islands, for which we agreed to pay $20,- 
000,000. 

Summary 

In April, 1898, the United States declared war against 
Spain to force that country to free Cuba. Cuba was under 
military rule, and the Cubans were oppressed and ill-treated. 
— The previous February the United States battleship Maine 
had been wrecked in Havana Harbor, supposedly by Spanish 
autnority. — Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish 
fleet in Manila Bay in the Philippine Islands. — When the 
Spanish fleet in the Harbor of Santiago, Cuba, had been de- 
stroyed and the city of Santiago had surrendered, the war was 
over. — By treaty, Cuba became independent; Spain ceded to 
the United States Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands, for 
which the United States paid $20,000,000. 



XXXIX 
THOMAS A. EDISON 



NEWSBOY AND TELEGRAPH OPERATOR 

The naming pine knot used long ago burned well, and 
pine was easy to get. But it smoked and dripped tar in 

the cabins of the early house- 
wives, so candles came to 
take its place. 

Candles give a mellow 
light. But they were expen- 
sive to buy, and it was tedious 
to dip, dip the twisted wicks 
in the melted tallow, so whale- 
oil lamps were introduced. 

Then some fifty-odd years 
ago whale oil was pushed 
aside for kerosene, which sup- 
plies to-day the customary 
light of the farmers' houses. 
Many people in towns and 
cities as well still use the kero- 
sene lamp, but unlike the 
isolated farmer they do so from choice. The city houses 
of the present may be lighted by the soft light of gas or 
the steady glow of Thomas Edison's electric bulb. 

Thomas Edison's father was not well to do, and very 
early Thomas had to begin to earn money. He was 

380 




Copyright, Pack Bros., N. ¥., 1906. 
Thomas A. Edison. 



THOMAS A. EDISON 



twelve years old when he became newsboy on the Grand 
Trunk Railroad, and a pretty shrewd newsboy he was too. 
He soon learned that exciting news sold better than dry 
items, and he would run over a paper's headlines and judge 
how many he could sell before deciding how many he 
would buy. What is more, he printed the only newspaper 
ever printed on a train — a little paper full of railroad gossip. 

One thing that especially fascinated the newsboy was 
the click, click of the telegraph. Endless questions were 
put to the operators along the road. Then came a day 
when the little child of a station agent was playing on the 
track, all unnoticed. Down upon it came a freight train, 
nearer and nearer. When it was almost too late, Edison 
spied the child. Like a flash he made a dive, grabbed the 
baby, and cleared the track without a moment to spare. 
The grateful father could hardly do less than teach Edi- 
son how to telegraph. Night lessons began, and in a few 
months the newsboy had become an excellent telegraph 
operator. 

To the train boy this had seemed a fair ambition, but 
now that Edison knew how to run the machine he wanted 
to perfect it. So he studied his work, spent his money 
for books, and made experiment after experiment, which 
have resulted in more than one 
priceless improvement. 

He was engrossed in his 
work and disliked interrupt 
tion. The manager of his cir- 
cuit had found from experi- 
ence that operators were not 
always on hand, and he insisted that each operator should 
signal to him over the wire each half hour. This was a 
decided nuisance to Edison, so he managed to connect 
his clock to his machine in such a way that the signal was 
26 381 




Telegraph Instrument. 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

promptly turned in at headquarters every thirty minutes, 
whether the young operator was in the office or not. 

He had another device, too, which gave the impression 
that he could receive a long message very rapidly, when 
such was not the case. In both of these little frauds he 
was found out, and he had the good sense to be ashamed 
of his deception rather than proud of his inventions. The 
chagrin over the discovery of his real lack of speed in 
taking a message led him to work, work, work in this line, 
until there was no one who could equal him. At least he 
would be all he claimed to be. 



THE INVENTOR 

After drifting from place to place in the West, 
Thomas Edison went to Boston and then to New York. 
When he reached New York he had little but debts to call 
his own. Man after man refused him work, until, by 
chance, he reached a large broker's office just at the time 
all was in confusion because the recording machine had 
broken down. Edison offered his services and soon made 
it right. 

Such a man was too good to lose. He was promptly 
appointed superintendent at two hundred dollars a month, 
and from that hour his fortune was made. At once he set 
to work to make improvements on the machines used in 
this and similar offices. These improvements he offered 
for sale, hoping to get a few thousand dollars out of them. 
Imagine his surprise at being offered forty thousand! 

With the forty thousand Mr. Edison established his 
first large laboratory and engaged a force of men to work 
with him. Now had come the longed-for opportunity to 
perfect the ideas with which his brain was teeming. 

From his first laboratory grew a second and then a third 
382 



THOMAS A. EDISON 

— a great one in which Mr. Edison is still working, and 
where he has invented marvels. This is at Orange, New 
Jersey. 

In the days when he was a fifteen-year-old telegraph 
operator, a telegraph wire could carry only one message 
at a time. Edison determined to find a way to send two 
messages at once over one wire. Effort followed effort 
until the desired result was reached. But still the in- 
ventor was not content. He would make one wire do the 
work of four. He did this, too. Then once again he 
began to work to make a single wire carry six messages, 
and he has succeeded! 

Asked a few years ago to name his principal inventions 
he said, "The first and foremost, the idea of the electric 
lighting station; then — let me see — what have I invented? 
Well, there was the mimeograph and the electric pen, and 
the carbon telephone, and the incandescent lamp and its 
accessories, and the quadruple telegraph and the auto- 
matic telegraph, and the phonograph, and the kinetoscope 
and — I don't know, a whole lot of other things. " 

This is a modest answer surely, when one considers 
that the number of Mr." Edison's inventions reaches high 
into the hundreds. 

Many men would be content with the honor of having 
invented the phonograph alone. Think of inventing a 
machine that will make a record of sound and will re- 
produce that sound any number of times afterwards! Let 
one or more persons talk, sing, or whistle; let a band play, 
or a medley of sounds be poured into a phonograph ar- 
ranged to receive it, and later each note received will be 
repeated over and over as often as the record is adjusted 
in the machine. 

What Edison's phonograph does for sound, his kineto- 
scope does for sight. Who has not seen the wonderful 

383 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

" moving pictures " so full of life and action that it is hard 
to believe they are pictures at all? 

But perhaps the greatest gift Mr. Edison has given 
the world so far is the incandescent light. The principal 
of this light is simple, but to apply it to practical use was 
an undertaking that for some time taxed even Mr. Edison's 
great genius. The trouble was to find the right material 
for the little coil which runs inside the air-tight glass bulb. 
He tried a piece of cotton thread that had been carbonized. 
He tried paper, manila hemp, and an endless variety of 
bamboo fibers. At last he adopted the platinum wire and 
gained success. Compare the bright, clear glow of these 
little bulbs with the smoky light of a whale-oil lamp and 
the feeble gleam of a candle, and you will realize what a 
marvelous invention is this of Thomas Edison's. It was 
in 1879 that Mr. Edison showed the world a complete 
system of lighting by electricity. 

Will the wonderful inventor go on and do more? Here 
is his answer: "The achievement of the past is merely a 
point of departure, and you know that in our art, - im- 
possible' is an impossible word." 



Summary 

Thomas A. Edison has made more electrical inventions and 
improvements than any other man. — His greatest invention is 
the incandescent electric light and the system of lighting stations, 
by which large districts may be supplied with electric light. 
He has made many improvements in telegraphy. — He is the 
inventor of the phonograph and the kinetoscope. 



XL 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Before the middle of the eighteenth century, thirteen 
colonies, all owing allegiance to England, were scattered 
along the Atlantic coast of North America. The settlers 
were Old World folks tempted across the seas either by- 
fabled wealth, love of adventure, or an unconquerable 
desire to worship God as they saw fit. 

There was little temptation to journey far from home. 
Great lumbering coaches, the saddled back of a horse, or 
small sailing boats offered the only means of travel. So 
for the most part the colonist was a stay-at-home. 

As far as circumstances would allow, he lived much 
as did his far-away relatives beyond the sea, shaping his 
new life by the habits and customs, the laws and ideals, 
that had come down to him through the ages from the 
different races of Europe. 

Then into this quiet Colonial life came the cruel 
French and Indian War. A common danger threatened 
the thirteen colonies. For the first time the colonies 
united to fight a common foe. And they conquered ! 

But even while they still rejoiced in their victory, 
England's king tried to tax the colonists unjustly. The 
colonists resisted. The king's grasp tightened, and Old 
England seemed about to crush her American children. 

Then from colony after colony rose the cry for freedom. 
The struggle was long and bitter. At last the victory was 
won. The power of England, mighty England, was broken. 

385 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

Her king had lost his grasp on his American colonies. 
And by their united courage, perseverance and pluck 
these colonies had gained their freedom and the world a 
new nation — the United States of America. 

From the time the thirteen separate English colonies 
became the United States of America our country has 
grown and prospered. It is true we have fought a civil 
war in which the very unity of the Nation itself was at 
stake. But, terrible as it was, that very war established 
our union as "one and inseparable, " and removed from us 
the stigma of being a slave-holding nation. 

From the eastern shore of our land pioneers early 
began to work their way west. At first they rode on 
horseback, gun on shoulder, beside the lumbering canvas- 
covered wagons that held their families and household 
goods. Some sought rich land for farming, others went in 
search of gold. But west, ever west they have pushed, 
until those wildernesses, where herded the buffalo of old, 
have been turned into flourishing cities or widespread 
fields for the vast grain crops of America. 

To-day railroads cross our country from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific. The old-time farming tools are being laid 
aside and great steam-driven machines plow the ground, 
sow the seeds and reap the harvests. Coal, silver, gold, 
and copper are mined. Factories of every sort are at 
work throughout the land. American-made locomotives, 
American steel bridges, American automobiles, sewing 
machines, typewriters, aeroplanes, hydroplanes, and many 
other products of American labor are known the whole 
world over. To-day America leads the nations of the 
world in the magnitude of her foreign trade. 

Nor are we content with all this. Through annexa- 
tion and purchase, we are extending our boundaries. 
Alaska, the Philippines, Porto Rico, and Hawaii have 

386 



THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

all become ours. Then, too, we have bought from the 
Republic of Panama the right to open a canal across 
that isthmus that our great merchant vessels and splen- 
did battleships may pass easily and quickly from our 
eastern to our western coasts. 

Growth and improvement have been the history of our 
land since the days of the Nation's birth. On that flag 
which floated over the plucky little states which won our 
independence were thirteen stars and thirteen stripes. 
To-day the American flag displays forty-eight stars, each 
one representing a state in our union. The stripes still 
number thirteen. The number of our states may increase 
and our Nation's flag proudly boast the fact. But with 
even greater pride does it constantly proclaim that, do 
what they will, the Americans to come can never make 
to America as great a gift as did those men of the thirteen 
original states. We rejoice in America's greatness, her 
wide possessions, her immense achievements, but our 
glory, our great and lasting glory, is first and always 
America's freedom. 

America's freedom does not mean merely our in- 
dependence of England's king. It means much more. 
It means that every citizen of our land, rich or poor, has a 
voice in the government of America; has a right to protest 
against oppression; has a claim to justice for himself or 
for his neighbor; has a chance to make of himself the best 
of which he is capable. 

This same sort of freedom is being given in greater and 
greater measure to the people of the European countries. 
But, in the very heart of Europe, lies one mighty nation 
that clings, or seems to cling, to the old belief that the 
"King can do no wrong." This nation is Germany. For 
years past the ruling house of Germany has been teaching 
the Germans that they are the most advanced, the most 

387 



A FIRST BOOK IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

superior race of men, and therefore are entitled to rule 
the world. To this end Germany has trained her men to 
fight, her women to work, and has gathered arms, ammuni- 
tion and money in vast, unbelievable quantities. And, in 
1914, thinking the time had come to spread her dominion, 
she undertook to advance on France, through Belgium. 

The outcome has been a great World War. For over 
two years America remained neutral. Then Germany, 
in her effort to cut off the supplies of her enemies, ordered 
her submarines to sink, without warning, all vessels, 
flying any flag, and bound on any errand. This was too 
much. Germany in her desire for power was threatening 
the freedom and liberty of the people of the whole world. 
The United States could no longer be neutral. The time 
had come for her to join with the allied countries of Europe 
in their fight for freedom, and when she acted she threw 
the whole weight and power of the greatest republic of 
the world into the defense of those principles upon which 
American freedom stands. 

So, calling a special session of Congress in April, 1917, 
President Woodrow Wilson read to the members a won- 
derful war message, in which he said: 

"We are now about to accept gage of battle with this 
natural foe to liberty and shall, if necessary, spend the 
whole force of the nation to check and nullify its pre- 
tensions and its power. We are glad, now that we see the 
facts with no veil of false pretense about them, to fight 
thus for the ultimate peace of the world and for the 
liberation of its peoples the German peoples included; 
for the rights of nations, great and small, and the privilege 
of men everywhere to choose their way of life and of 
obedience. The world must be made safe for democracy; 
its peace must be planted upon tested foundations of 
political liberty." 

388 






REVIEW QUESTIONS 



CHAPTER I 



i. What part of the world was known in the days of Alexander 
the Great? What countries were the chief centers of civilization? 

2. For what were the Greeks noted? What sort of people were 
they? 

3. What were the Olympian games? 

4. What can you tell about the Greek states? 

5. What great lesson did Athens teach the world? 

6. Tell what you can about Alexander the Great and his conquests. 

7. How did he spread Greek thoughts and influence far and wide? 

8. What have we learned from Greece? 

CHAPTER II 

1. Where was Rome? Who founded it and why was the site a 
good one? 

2. Tell about its early history and its growth. 

3. What sort of people were the Romans and to what did they 
give their attention? 

4. What did they learn from the Greeks? 

5. Who was Hannibal and what part did he take in the history 
of Rome? 

6. What countries were conquered by the Romans? 

7. What country did Julius Caesar conquer? 

8. What race of people did he first meet in Gaul? 

9. Why did he go to Britain? How many visits did he make? 

10. What was the result of the Roman conquests to the west? 

11. What title was given to Caesar after he returned to Rome? 

12. Tell what you can about his rule in Rome and his death. 

13. Describe life in Rome at the time of Caesar's death. 

14. Who was Augustus and what sort of ruler did he make? 

15. What event happened in his reign which was to change the 
religion of the world? Tell about the spread of Christianity. 

16. What race finally conquered the Romans? 

17. What lessons have the people of to-day learned from the 
Romans? 

389 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

CHAPTER III 

i. Who were the Germans and where was their land? 

2. Tell how they lived. 

3. How did they treat their women? 

4. Where did the Romans first meet the Germans in battle? 
What was the result? 

5. What made the Goths cross over into Italy? 

6. How were they received? 

7. Who was Alaric and what great city did he conquer? 

8. What German tribe settled in Northern Gaul and what name 
did they give to their possessions? 

9. Who was Charlemagne and what did he do for France? 

10. Tell what you can about the Germans in Spain. 

11. What great lesson have we learned from the Germans? 

12. What did the Arabs bring to Spain? 

CHAPTER IV 

1. What nation first conquered the Britons? 

2. What did the Romans do to improve the land they had con- 
quered? 

3. How long did Britain remain a Roman province? 

4. What German tribes next conquered the land? 

5. Tell the story of their coming and who led them. 

6. How did the name of Britain become changed to England? 

7. Who was Augustine and how were he and his followers re- 
ceived by the King of Kent? 

8. What was the object of his coming to Britain and how did he 
succeed? 

9. Tell what you can about the monasteries in England. 

10. Who were the Northmen and where did they come from? 

11. Tell about their raids on England's coast. 

12. What division of the Northmen invaded England and what 
part did they seize? 

13. Who was Alfred the Great, and what agreement did he make 
with the Danes? 

14. What did he do for England and what did he invent? 

15. Who was Canute and what kind of a king was he? 

16. What country beside England was invaded by the Northmen? 

17. What part of France was finally given to the Northmen and 
what was it named? 

18. What Duke of Normandy claimed the English throne and why? 

19. What was he called? 

390 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

20. How did he prevent the English people from rising against 
him? 

21. What kind of ruler was he? Name some of his laws which 
the English hated. 

22. How did the Norman conquest help England? 

23. Tell about the feudal system. Who owned all the land? To 
whom did he grant it? What did he get in return? What did the 
king's vassals do with the land? Who were the serfs and how did 
they live? 

24. Tell what you can about the life in England in the days of 
chivalry. 

25. What was the object of the Crusades and what English king 
went to the Holy Land? What were the results of the Crusades? 

26. What sort of king was John and what did his nobles force 
him to do? 

27. Why was the calling of the first Parliament an important step? 

CHAPTER V 

1. About 700 years ago, what ideas did Europeans have of the 
world? 

2. Who was Marco Polo? Why were his travels so important? 

3. What is the story of Vinland? 

4. What knowledge or experiences of others helped Columbus tc 
form his plans? Who provided the means to carry out these plans? 

5. Describe the first voyage of Columbus. What land did he be- 
lieve he had reached? What did he call the inhabitants? 

6. How many other voyages did Columbus make? Tell about them. 

7. About how old was Columbus when he made his last voyage? 
What had he gained for himself? For Spain? For the world? 

8. After whom was America named? Why? 

CHAPTER VI 

1. Who commanded the first expedition sent by England to the 
New World? By whom and for what reason was it ordered? What 
did it accomplish? Who was Sebastian Cabot? 

CHAPTER VII 

1. What tempted the Spaniards to the New World in the century 
alter Columbus? 

2. Which of these Spaniards gained what he sought? Why was 
he successful? Who were the Aztecs, and how did they live? How 
does Mexico still show the influence of this conquest? 

391 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

3. What did Ponce de Leon seek? What name did he give the 
country he discovered? Why? 

4. What led Balboa to the Pacific Ocean? 

5. How long was De Soto in reaching the Mississippi? Through 
which of our present States did he pass? Explain the name Mis- 
sissippi. Tell the story of the end of De Soto's journey. 

CHAPTER VIII 

1. What great fact did Magellan's expedition prove? Trace the 
route of Magellan's ships. What islands did he discover? What 
was the fate of Magellan himself? 

2. How long after this did Drake make his great voyage? Trace 
his route. What was the object of his voyage? What new lands 
did he claim for England? 

3. What steps did Raleigh take in order to establish a colony? 
Where did his colonists locate? Why was not the first colony a 
success? When did he send out the second? Tell the story of this. 
Why was the region called Virginia? What plants did Raleigh's 
colonists bring back to England? 

CHAPTER IX 

1. Tell of John Smith's adventures before he went to Virginia. 

2. After whom was Jamestown named? Locate it. When was 
it settled? What kind of men made up the colony? 

3. How did Smith discipline the colonists? How did he deal 
with the Indians? Why was he a good leader? 

4. Give the story of Pocahontas. 

5. What event of 1619 helped the industry of the South? How? 

6. What section of our country did John Smith name? 

7. How was the Indian race divided, and by whom governed? 
Describe the appearance of the Indians; their homes. 

CHAPTER X 

1. How did the Pilgrims get their name? Why did they choose 
America for their new home? When did they come? 

2. What is the story of the Speedwell? The Mayflower. 

3. Name two of the leaders in the colony and tell what each did, 

392 



KEVIEW QUESTIONS 

4. How did these colonists differ from the Jamestown colonists? 

5. What Indians showed their friendship, and how? 

6. Give the story of the first winter at Plymouth. Describe the 
first Thanksgiving. 

CHAPTER XI 

1. Why were the Puritans so named? Where did they first settle 
in America? When? 

2. When was Boston founded? What kind of people were the 
New England Puritans? 

3. Give a sketch of Governor Winthrop. 

4. Describe the growth of the colony and the town. How did 
the Puritans educate their children? How did they keep order? 

5. Locate the Pilgrim and Puritan settlements. 

6. Why was Roger Williams banished from the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony? Do you think his ideas were right? 

7. How did he get the land for his settlement? Locate it. What 
name did he give it? For what was his colony noted? 

8. What troubles threatened the Puritans? How did Roger 
Williams "return good for evil"? What was the result of the In- 
dian hostilities? 

9. Who were the Wampanoag Indians? What strong tribe 
joined them in the war? What was the immediate cause of the war? 
Why did the Indians fortify themselves? What led to the capture 
of King Philip? 

10. What was the result of King Philip's War? 

CHAPTER XII 

1 . Why did the Dutch East India Company wish to find a north- 
erly passage to Asia? 

2. When Hudson set sail, what did he know of this continent? 
What great river did he discover? What did he hope it was? 
What is the last we know of Henry Hudson? 

3. Where did the Dutch settle? Why? What did they call their 
colony? 

4. Explain the patroon system. 

5. W T hat did Peter Minuit do for the colony? 

6. Who was the last of the Dutch governors? Tell about 
him. 

393 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

7. Why did England claim New Netherland? Why did Stuy- 
vesant surrender? What particular advantages did England see 
in the acquisition of this land? After whom was the colony re- 
named New York? 

CHAPTER XIII 

1. What great river did the French discover? Who discovered 
it? When? 

2. What was the first permanent French settlement in America? 
When was it settled? By whom? 

3. Who were the Iroquois and what land did they occupy? Why 
did the Iroquois become the bitter enemies of the French? 

4. Why did Champlain continue his explorations westward? 

5. Who was Marquette? What brought him to America? Who 
sent Joliet and Marquette on their journey? For what purpose? 
Trace their route on the map. 

6. Through what waters did La Salle travel before he reached the 
Mississippi? What difficulties did he encounter? When did he 
reach the mouth of the Mississippi? What was the extent of 
Louisiana? For whom was it named? 

7. What was La Salle's last journey, and how did it result? 



CHAPTER XIV 

1. To whom was the Maryland charter first granted, and why? 

2. Where previously had Lord Baltimore planted a colony, and 
with what success? 

3. After whom was Maryland named? When was it settled? 
Who was appointed the first governor of the colony? 

4. How did Virginia regard the new colony, and why? Tell what 
troubles arose between them. 



CHAPTER XV 

1 . What were the beliefs peculiar to the Quakers? 

2. Who was William Penn, and how did he happen to become a 
Quaker? Why did he wish to found a colony in America? 

3. What is the meaning of Pennsylvania? After whom was it 
named? What name did Penn give to the city he founded? When 
was it settled? What does the name mean? 

394 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

4. What were the two important provisions of Penn's treaty with 
the Indians? 

5. Describe the growth of the colony. 

6. What other settlements were made in America because of re- 
ligious persecution? 

CHAPTER XVI 

1 . What was the condition of debtors in England in the eighteenth 
century? Who made a plan for their relief? What was it? 

2. After whom was Georgia named? When was it founded? 

3. Who were the first settlers of New Jersey? How did this 
colony receive its name? 

4. Which of the thirteen colonies were founded by the English? 

CHAPTER XVII 

1. How did the settlements in Virginia differ from those in 
Massachusetts? Which were the more difficult to guard against 
Indian attack, and why? 

2. What did Bacon demand of the governor? Why did the gov- 
ernor pronounce him a rebel? How did Bacon's fellow-colonists 
show their confidence in him? 

3. What was accomplished by the rebellion? How did Governor 
Berkeley have his revenge? 



CHAPTER XVin 

1. What is an apprentice? What was the first undertaking in 
which Franklin attracted public attention? How did he later win 
fame in the same kind of work? What is an almanac? How did 
the newspapers of those days differ from ours? 

2. In Franklin's time what facilities of travel were there in the 
colonies? Between the colonies and Europe? 

3. With what city is Franklin's name most closely associated? 
What different things did he do for this city? 

4. W 7 hat different public offices did Franklin fill under the govern- 
ment of the colonies? Under the government of the United States? 

5. What was Franklin's great discovery in science? W T hat prac- 
tical invention was the result of his discovery? What other things 
did Franklin invent? 

395 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

6. Why did Europe recognize Franklin as a great man? What 
important mission did he undertake for the United States? How 
did he succeed? 

CHAPTER XIX 

i. About the year 1750, what lands in America were claimed by 
the English? By the French? Which of these were claimed by 
both? 

2. What move on the part of the English did the French fear? 
Why? How did they try to prevent it? 

3. In the war that followed, who aided the French? What tribe 
sided with the English? To what beginning can you trace this 
Indian partisanship? What had the English accomplished by the 
end of the first year of the war? 

4. Explain the three campaign movements planned by the Eng- 
lish in 1758. 

5. Explain the French plans of campaign and the reason for each. 

6. State what office was filled by each of the following men dur- 
ing the war, and give an account of one episode in which he took 
an important part: Dinwiddie, Duquesne, William Pitt, Amherst, 
Braddock, Montcalm, Washington, William Johnson, Wolfe. 

7. Locate each of the following places, and tell something of its 
history during the war: Fort Le Boeuf, Fort Duquesne, Fort William 
Henry, Louisburg, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort Frontenac, Oswego. 

8. Tell about the battle of Quebec. Why did not the war con- 
tinue after the surrender of Quebec? 

9. Give the date and the terms of the treaty of peace. 

CHAPTER XX 

1. What effect did the French and Indian War have upon the 
relation of the colonies to one another? To England? 

2. Who was King of England at the time of the siege of Quebec? 
Who was King when the Treaty of Paris was signed? 

3. What were the Navigation Acts? Why did England now en- 
force them? 

4. What were the Writs of Assistance, and what occasioned them? 

5. How was the French and Indian War a cause of the Stamp 
Act? What was the Stamp Act? Why did the colonists oppose it? 
Who was the first American publicly to denounce it? 

396 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

6. What was the Virginia House of Burgesses? In 1765, did 
Patrick Henry wish the colonists to separate from England? In 
1775, did he desire separation? For what did he wish the colonists 
to fight? 

CHAPTER XXI 

i. Who was Samuel Adams? What did he do for Massachusetts 
and the other colonies? 

2. How did the Massachusetts colonists show their disapproval 
when the stamp tax went into effect? Why did King George repeal 
the Stamp Act? Was it taxation itself of which the colonists dis- 
approved? 

3. What events led to the " Boston Tea Party "? How did England 
punish the colony in return? What action did the colonists take? 

4. What were the colonial soldiers called? Why? 

5. Who was now the King's Governor of Massachusetts? How 
did he plan to subdue the rebels at once? 

6. Read Longfellow's poem ''Paul Revere's Ride," and explain 
the incident about which it is written. 

7. Read Emerson's "Hymn on Concord Bridge," and explain 
the event it celebrates. 

8. What was the first battle of the Revolution? Give its date. 

9. Locate Bunker Hill. Give an account of the battle. What 
was its effect throughout the colonies? 



CHAPTER XXII 

1. Give the date and the place of Washington's birth. Tell 
about his boyhood and education. 

2. What was the first important work that he did? How well 
did he do it? 

3. What was Governor Dinwiddie's message to the French 
commander? Why did he choose Washington to carry it? Tell 
about Washington's trip to the French forts. 

4. What was the importance of the skirmish at Great Meadows? 
In what year was this? What was the object of the expedition, and 
how did it end? 

5. What was Washington's next military service? 

6. What plans of campaign did England make against the 
French? Account for the failure of the attack on Fort Duquesne. 

27 397 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

7. After this, how did Governor Dinwiddie show his confidence 
in Washington's ability? 

8. Where is Mount Vernon? How did Washington come into 
possession of it? 

CHAPTER XXIII 

1. What was the first joint action taken by the colonies against 
England? When and where did their delegates meet? What was 
the immediate cause of the meeting? What was its result? 

2. When and where was the second meeting of delegates held? 
What action did they take? Why was this now made necessary? 

3. What event marked the 19th of June, 1775? Where were the 
King's "regulars" at this time? Where was the Colonial army? 
Compare Washington's army to the English army in America. 

4. What was Washington's first move against the British army? 
When was this? Why had he delayed so long? What was the 
result? 

5. What finally determined the colonists to declare themselves 
independent? Until this time, for what had they been fighting? 
When was the declaration made? What did the colonies call their 
independent government? 

6. Tell of three occasions in 1776 when Washington outwitted 
the English. Trace the route of Washington's army from Boston 
to Princeton. 

7. During the war, what plans were made by the English for 
the capture of Philadelphia? Tell about the winter at Valley 
Forge. 

8. For what reasons did the English plan a campaign in New 
York State? What moves were the British commanders to 
make? 

9. To what American general fell the duty of defending the 
State? How did he protect the Hudson and Champlain valleys? 

10. Locate Fort Stanwix. What occurred here? 

11. What was General Burgoyne's objective point? Where and 
when was he checked? Tell of his surrender. What did this vic- 
tory mean to the Americans? 

12. Why was 1777 the darkest year of the war for the United 
States? What Frenchman aided us? Was he sent by the French 
Government? Who persuaded the Government of France to recog- 
nize and aid this country? 

398 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

13. Who succeeded General Howe in command? Tell the story 
of Andre's mission. 

14. How was the British army divided in 1781? What was 
Washington's plan for ending the war? Give the date and place 
of the British surrender. Give the date of the treaty that ended 
the war. 

15. How did Washington continue to serve his country after the 
war? When and where did he die? 



CHAPTER XXIV 

1. In what colony was Nathanael Greene born? What was his 
religion? What principle in the foundation of the colony does this 
fact suggest? 

2. How did Nathanael Greene train himself for military service? 
To what position was he appointed in 1775? In what important 
battles did he hold a command between 1775 and 1778? 

3. How did it happen that England carried the war into the 
South? With what success at first? 

4. In what battle did General Gates lead the American troops? 
With what result? Locate the Southern towns in the hands of the 
British at the close of 1780. 

5. Who was sent to succeed General Gates? What was the con- 
dition of the Southern army at this time? What was Greene's 
plan of campaign? What general assisted him? 

6. Describe the battle of Guilford Court House. Give its re- 
sults. How did Greene's generalship help Washington in his 
plans? 

7. Where did General Greene make his home after the war? 
Why? 

CHAPTER XXV 

1. When and where was Hamilton born? Why did he come to 
New York? 

2. Tell the story of Alexander Hamilton's entrance into public 
life. 

3. What part did he take in the Revolutionary War? 

4. At the present time do you know how the Government fills 
its Treasury? For what uses is this money needed? 

399 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

5. At the close of the Revolution, for what several uses did the 
Government need large sums of money? Why could it not collect 
them? 

6. What does money represent? Explain the phrase "not worth 
a continental." After the war, how did people obtain food, cloth- 
ing, and other necessaries? 

7. Of what importance was the convention at Annapolis? 

8. Where and when was the next convention held? What op- 
posite views were held by the delegates? On which side was Alex- 
ander Hamilton? Explain the meaning of "a strong Central 
Government," as applied to the United States. What was ac- 
complished by this convention? What was necessary before 
the Constitution could be made the working basis of the Govern- 
ment? 

9. According to the Constitution, how was the United States to 
be governed? Describe the great event of April 30, 1789. 

10. What position did Hamilton hold under the new Government? 
Explain what he did to improve the financial condition of the 
country. How long was Hamilton in office? 

11. Tell the story of Hamilton's death. Why is his place of 
burial appropriate? 

CHAPTER XXVI 

1. What colony was Thomas Jefferson's home? What part did 
he take in public affairs before the battle of Lexington? Immedi- 
ately after the battle? 

2. When the thirteen colonies decided to declare their inde- 
pendence, who were appointed to prepare the Declaration? What 
was Jefferson's part of the work? Who approved and issued the 
Declaration? Who was president of the body? When and where 
was the paper signed? Tell the story of the announcement. Why 
do we celebrate the Fourth of July? 

3. What positions did Jefferson hold under the Government of 
the United States? In what year was he inaugurated President? 
Where? 

4. Trace on a map of the United States the part included at the 
beginning of Jefferson's administration. At the end. How was 
this new territory secured? Trace the route of Lewis and Clarke. 
Who ordered the expedition, and why? 

5. What public service did Jefferson render to his home State? 

400 



KEVIEW QUESTIONS 

6. How did Jefferson differ in his personal tastes from most of thv 
public men of his day? 

7. On what day did Jefferson die? 

CHAPTER XXVII 

1. Why are pioneer woodsmen important in our history? 

2. Where did Boone explore? When? Give a sketch of the man 
as you picture him. 

3. Trace the Wilderness Road. 

4. Locate and describe Boonesborough. Why was Boones- 
borough important? 

5. How far west did Boone go? 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

1. How is the name of Nathanael Greene associated with that of 
Eli Whitney? Where was Eli Whitney born? 

2. In what year did Whitney make his great invention? Explain 
the name by which it is known. 

3. How many pounds of cotton could Whitney's machine clean 
in a day? How many could a slave clean? What was the value of 
Whitney's machine to the South? To the North? 

4. Find out, if you do not know, to what country most our ex- 
ports of raw cotton have been sent. 

5. How did the early colonists travel from one settlement to 
another? In what kind of vessels did they cross the ocean? About 
how long did it take? 

6. How long does it take now to go from this country to England? 

7. What has brought about the change? 

8. What were some of Robert Fulton's first inventions? 

9. Where was Fulton's native home? In what city did he make 
his fame? Who was his friend and helper? 

10. Describe the first trip of the Clermont. 

11. What scheme of Fulton's, discarded in his day, is now of 
great use to all the navies of the world? 

12. How long did it take to go by stage coach from New York to 
Philadelphia? How long does it take now by fast express? 

13. When and where was our first steam railroad opened? When 
was the first line of railroad across the country completed? 

401 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

CHAPTER XXIX 

1. Why did America have war with England in 1812? On what 
pretext did the English seize our sailors? To what extent had 
England annoyed our navy before the war? 

2. How had Oliver Hazard Perry obtained his training in sea- 
manship? 

3. How did it happen that a battle occurred on Lake Erie? 
How did Commodore Perry prepare for it? Name and locate the 
site of the battle. What was the name of Perry's flag-ship, and 
after whom was it named? 

4. In what words did Perry announce his victory? To whom 
did he send the message? What were the results of the battle? 

5. Where else was our navy victorious? 

6. What disaster on land befell us in 1814? 

7. When did the war end? In what country was the treaty 
signed? Compare the position of America among nations before 
and after the war. 

CHAPTER XXX 

1. Describe the early life of Andrew Jackson. What national 
events were occurring during this time? Tell of Jackson's experi- 
ences during the Revolution. 

2. Where did Jackson go to live after the Revolution? 

3. What military service did he give before the Treaty of Ghent? 
After the treaty? Why? 

4. W T hat was the highest honor Jackson received? At this time 
what problem was troubling the whole country? Why? 

5. What principle guided all of Jackson's decisions on this ques- 
tion? What event tested his judgment, and how did he decide? 



CHAPTER XXXI 

1. What did Clay's boyhood neighbors call him, and why? 

2. How did it happen that the name of Henry Clay is associated 
with Kentucky? What did Clay do particularly for this State and 
for the West? In what capacity did he urge these improvements? 

3. Was Clay's work chiefly in the cause of war or of peace? 
When and why did he recommend war? What was his first service 
in the cause of peace? 

402 






REVIEW QUESTIONS 

4. What problem was the country debating at this time? How- 
was opinion divided? Why was it so divided? 

5., By what two measures did Clay earn the epithet "the great 
pacificator"? 

6. What conditions led Clay to offer the Missouri Compromise? 
Why did it please the upholders of slavery? Why did it please the 
opponents? When was it passed? 

7. What conditions led to the "Omnibus Bill"? When was it 
passed? 

8. Trace on the map the states which at the close of this year 
allowed slavery within their borders. Show on the map which 
states prohibited slavery. • 

9. What does the term "Pacificator" mean as applied to Clay? 

10. What made Daniel Webster a leader in his time? What be- 
lief of his determined most of his political actions? Of what one 
thing particularly had he been a close student? 

11. What is meant by "a tariff to protect growing industries"? 
How did it happen that the North came to desire a tariff on manu- 
factures, and the South to oppose it? To what extent did the South 
protest? Recall from a previous lesson who was President of the 
United States at this time. What action did he take? 

12. What position did Webster receive in 1813? What office 
did he hold in 1830? What was the subject of the debate between 
Hayne and Webster? What was the gist of Webster's reply? 

13. Where was Webster's early home? His later home? De- 
scribe his personal appearance. When did he die? 



CHAPTER XXXII 

1. Name three early methods of signalling. Three modern 
methods. 

2. Which of all these inventions is the latest? By whom was 
the system perfected? Give an instance, with the date, to show its 
successful use. Find out, if you can, the method by which these 
messages are sent and received. What is. the advantage of the 
system over the old system of telegraphing? 

3. Who was the inventor of the telegraph? Tell briefly the story 
of his efforts to complete his invention? When, and between what 
points, was the first message sent? What was the message? Ex- 
plain, if you can, what is done by the key that the operator presses. 

403 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

4. When, and by what means, was the first telegraph message 
sent to Europe? How did the line succeed? What had been the 
first attempt made? Who was the leader in the work? How many- 
trials did he make before he succeeded? When was the system 
established? What was the Great Eastern? 

5. What does the word telegraph mean? The word telephone? 
Who invented the telephone? When? 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

1. Where and when was Abraham Lincoln born? Describe his 
home. Tell of the move to Indiana and Lincoln's life there. 

2. What education did Lincoln have? 

3. In what state did Lincoln spend most of his later life? Give 
a short account of his life in the years 1831 and 1832. 

4. What was his first public position? What other positions did 
he hold before 1850? 

5. What important bill did Stephen A. Douglas introduce in 
Congress in 1854? What measure was repealed by its passage? 
Which party favored it? What did Lincoln think about it, and 
why? 

6. Why was the election of 1860 a crisis? What qualities of 
Abraham Lincoln brought him into prominence as a candidate? 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

1 . Where was Lincoln inaugurated President of the United States? 
By this time, what change had come in the union of the states? 
What was the cause? How many states were in the Confederacy? 
Name them. 

2. What was the immediate cause of the Civil War? What was 
Lincoln's opinion of slavery? How did he intend to treat it? 

3. Who was elected President of the Confederacy? Where was 
its capital? What was the first great land battle of the war? What 
was its result? To whom was the victory due? 

4. What was the most notable naval battle of 1862? Why was 
it so? What was its result? 

5. Who commanded the Southern army? Locate Antietam. 
What was the importance of the battle here? 

404 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

6. For what event is January 1, 1863, memorable? Why did 
Lincoln take this action? What hardship did it mean to the South, 
and why? Name and locate the greatest battleground of 1863. 

7. Who was commanding the Union army in the West? What 
important place surrendered to him? When did the war close? 

8. Describe Lincoln's appearance. 

9. When did Lincoln's first administration end? How long was 
his second? Give a brief account of Lincoln's death. 

10. Why is Abraham Lincoln one of the greatest Americans? 



CHAPTER XXXV 

1. What was General Grant's native state? Where was he edu- 
cated for the army? In what wars did he take part? 

2. What was the cause of the Mexican War? Why did Grant 
denounce it as unjust? In what battles did Grant distinguish 
himself? What were the terms of peace? 

3. At the opening of the Civil War, to what position was Grant 
assigned? What was the object of his Western campaign? Name 
and locate the forts he captured. Tell of the siege of Vicksburg. 
Give the date of its surrender. What other great victory for the 
North came just at this time? To what position did Grant's own 
skill recommend him? 

4. With what campaigns in the East did Grant plan to close the 
war, if possible? In these," who were the commanding officers on 
each side? How did these plans succeed? 

5. What battle preceded the capture of Richmond? Describe 
the event that ended the war. Give its date. 

6. Give a short account of Grant's life after the war. When did 
he die? Where is he buried? What words of his are on his tomb? 

7. Quote three famous sentences spoken by Grant, and give the 
circumstances in which each was said. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

1. What was the full name of the Confederate commander? 
When and where was he born? Tell briefly how his inheritance, 
home, and education differed from Grant's. In what respect was 
their training alike? 

405 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

2. What was Lee's military experience before 1860? When the 
time of division came, how did Lee decide? Had he upheld the 
Union cause, what position might he have filled? 

3. Why was Virginia the battleground through so much of the 
war? What effect did the battle of Bull Run have upon the South? 
Upon the North? 

4. Name two Southern commanders under Lee and the battles 
in which they fought. What Northern generals did each then 
oppose, and what were the results of these battles? 

5. How did General Jackson receive his nickname? What was 
his last battle? 

6. At the close of 1863, how did the fortunes of each side stand? 
Tell about the war in 1864. When did the war end? 

7. After the final surrender, how was Lee regarded by his army 
and the South. Where and how did General Lee live after the war? 

8. For what had the South been fighting? For what had the 
North? What changes in the Union, if any, did the war bring 
about? 

CHAPTER XXXVII 

1. Where was Farragut's native home? How did he happen to 
enter the navy? What experiences did he have as an officer before 
the Civil War? 

2. Wlien the country divided, how did Farragut decide? 

3. What, and when, was Farragut's first great victory? Give an 
account of the way he accomplished it. What effect did it have? 

4. What still more difficult victory did he win? In what year of 
the war? Locate the battle. 

5. On this occasion, what ships formed Farragut's fleet? What 
was the danger from ironclads? What is meant by saying that a 
ship "ran into a torpedo"? Give a brief account of the battle. 
What were the results? 

6. What did the United States do to show its appreciation of 
Farragut's services? 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 

1. What is now the condition of Cuba? How did she obtain her 
independence? Why did she wish it? 

2. On what grounds did the United States interfere? In what year 
was this? What event had previously roused this country against Spain? 

406 



REVIEW QUESTIONS 

3. What part did Commodore Dewey take in the war? Where 
was the battle fought? Why in that place? 

4. What other naval victory did we win? Locate this. How 
did it bring the war to a close? What were the terms of peace? 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

1. How were houses lighted in early days? 

2. Answer in one statement the question, Who is Thomas Edison? 

3. Tell the story of Edison's boyhood. How did he first become 
familiar with electrical machinery? What were his first inventions? 

4. What is a "laboratory"? Where is Mr. Edison's? Name 
and describe four of his inventions. Which of these has greatly 
increased the efficiency of Morse's invention? 

5. Which of Edison's inventions is the most useful and most 
widely used? What is meant by "a complete system" of lighting 
by electricity? When did he complete the invention? 



CHRONOLOGY 



753 B.C. Rome founded. 

336 Alexander the Great becomes King of Greece. 
264-241 First Punic War. 

146 Destruction of Carthage. 

55 Julius Caesar. 

43 a.d. Romans invade England. 
325 Christianity made national religion of Italy. 

410 Alaric conquers Rome. 

449 Invasion of Britain by Angles and Saxons. 

481 Franks invade Gaul. 

597 Augustine introduces Christianity into England. 

787 Danish Northmen invade England. 

912 Northmen establish themselves in Normandy. 

1000 (?) Northmen explore the mainland of North America. 
1016 Canute, the Dane, becomes King of England. 

1066 William of Normandy conquers England and is 

crowned king. 
1205 King John signs the Magna Charta. 

1271-1295 Marco Polo visits China. 

1492 Columbus discovers the West Indies (San Salvador). 

1497 The Cabots discover the North American continent. 

1498 Columbus on his third voyage discovers South 

America. 
1507 The New World named after Americus Vespucius. 

1 5 13 Ponce de Leon claims Florida for Spain. 

Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean. 
1519-1521 Cortez conquers Mexico. 

1519-1522 Magellan's ships sail around the world. 

*535 Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence River. 

1541 De Soto discovers the Mississippi. 

409 



CHRONOLOGY 

1577-1580 Sir Francis Drake sails around the world. 

1579 Drake explores the coast of California. 
1 584-1 587 Sir Walter Raleigh sends an exploring expedition to the 
eastern coast of America and attempts a settlement 
on Roanoke Island. 
1604 Acadia settled by the French. 

1607 Expedition sent out by the London Company makes 

the settlement of Jamestown. 

1608 Champlain founds Quebec. 

1609 Henry Hudson explores the Hudson River. 

1610 Henry Hudson reaches Hudson Bay. 
1614 Manhattan Island settled. 

1619 Slavery introduced into Virginia. 

1620 The Pilgrims land at Plymouth. 

1628 First settlement of Puritans at Salem, Massachusetts. 

1630 Governor Winthrop and Puritans come to New Eng- 
land and found Boston. 

1634 English Roman Catholics under Lord Baltimore found 
Maryland and make the first settlement at St. Mary's. 

1636 Roger Williams founds Providence. 

1637 Pequot War. 

1638 Delaware settled by the Swedes. 

1664 The Dutch surrender New Netherland to the English. 

1673 Joliet and Marquette journey down the Mississippi. 

1675 King Philip's War. 

1676 Bacon's Rebellion and the burning of Jamestown. 
1682 The Quakers under Penn found Philadelphia. 

La Salle explores the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico 
and claims Louisiana for France. 
1733 English (mostly debtors) under Oglethorpe found 
Georgia and make the first settlement at Savannah. 
1689-1763 The French and Indian Wars. 
1 754- 1 763 Last of the French and Indian Wars. 

1754 Colonial Congress at Albany; Franklin's plan of union. 

1755 Braddock's defeat at Fort Duquesne. 

1757 French capture Forts William Henry and Ticonderoga. 

1758 English capture Forts Duquesne and Frontenac. 

1759 Siege of Quebec. 
1763 Treaty of Paris. 

1765 Parliament passes the Stamp Act. 

410 



CHRONOLOGY 

1766 Stamp Act repealed and Declaratory Act passed. 

1767 Duties placed on glass, paper, paints, and tea. 

1773 All duties repealed but that on tea. 
Boston Tea Party. 

1774 Boston port closed. 

First Continental Congress. 

1775 Second Continental Congress. 

Battles of Lexington and Concord, April 19th. 
Washington appointed Commander in chief. 
Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17th. 

1776 British evacuate Boston, March 17th. 
Declaration of Independence signed, July J^th. 
Battle of Long Island, August 22d. 
Washington's retreat across New Jersey. 
Battle of Trenton, December 26th. 

1777 Battle of Princeton, January 3d. 
Washington's army at Morristown. 
Battle of Brandy wine, September 11th. 
Battle of Bemis Heights, September 19th. 
Howe enters Philadelphia. 

Battle of Germantown, October J+th. 
Burgoyne's surrender, October 17th. 
Washington's army at Valley Forge. 

1778 France acknowledges America's independence. 
British leave Philadelphia. 

Savannah captured, December 29th. 

1780 Fall of Charleston, May 12th. 
Battle of Camden, August 16th. 
Arnold's treason. 

Battle of King's Mountain, October 7th. 

1781 Battle of Cowpens, January 17th. 
Greene's retreat north through the Carolinas. 
Battle of Guilford Court House, March loth. 
Cornwallis in Virginia. 

British surrender at Yorktown, October 19th. 
- 1783 Treaty of peace with England. 
1787 Federal convention frames the Constitution. 
1789-1707 Washington, President. 

1 79 1 United States Bank established. 

1792 United States Mint established. 

411 



CHRONOLOGY 

1793 Whitney invents the cotton gin. 

1797-1801 John Adams, President. 

1800 City of Washington becomes the National Capital. 

1801-1809 Jefferson, President. 

1803 Purchase of Louisiana. 

1804 Lewis and Clarke Expedition. 
1807 Fulton launches the Clermont. 

1 81 2 War declared against England. 

1813 Battle of Lake Erie, September 10th. 

1814 Battle of Plattsburg, September 11th. 
Treaty of Ghent. 

1 815 Battle of New Orleans, January 8th. 
1820 Missouri Compromise. 

1830 Opening of the first steam railway. 

1844 Morse sends the first telegraph message. 

1845 Texas annexed. 

1846 War declared against Mexico. 
Battle of Monterey, September 24th. 

1847 Fall of the City of Mexico, September 14th, 

1848 Treaty of peace with Mexico. 
1850 Omnibus Bill. 

1854 The Kansas-Nebraska Bill. 

1858 First Atlantic cable laid. 

i860 Secession of South Carolina. 

1 86 1 Confederacy formed. 
1861-1865 Civil War. 
1861-1865 Lincoln, President. 

1 86 1 Fort Sumter fired upon, April 12th. 
Norfolk Navy Yard seized, April 20th. 
Battle of Bull Run, July 21st. 

1862 Attack on Fort Henry, February 6th. 
Attack on Fort Donelson, February 16th. 

Battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac, March 

9th. 
Battle of Shiloh, April 6th-7th. 
Farragut takes New Orleans, April 25th. 
Lee takes command of the Confederate Army. 
Seven Days' battles, June 25th- July 1st. 
Pope's campaign in Virginia, August. 
Second Battle of Bull Run, August 30th. 

412 



CHRONOLOGY 

1862 Battle of Antietam, September 17th. 
Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13th. 

1863 Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, January 1st. 
Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2d-3d. 

Battle of Gettysburg, July lst-3d. 

Fall of Vicksburg, July 4th. 

Siege of Chattanooga, October-November. 

1864 Grant made Lieutenant-General. 
Campaign in the Wilderness. 
Battle of Cold Harbor, June 3d. 
Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5th. 
Sherman takes Atlanta, September 2d. 
Sherman takes Savannah, December 22d. 

1865 Capture of Petersburg, April 2d. 
Grant takes Richmond, April 3d. 

1865 Lee's surrender, April 9th. 
Assassination of Lincoln, April lJ^h. 

1866 Second Atlantic cable laid. 

1867 Purchase of Alaska. 
1869-1877 Grant, President. 

1869 Pacific Railroad completed, May 10th. 
1 87 1 All states again represented in Congress. 

1898 Destruction of the Maine, February 15th. 
War with Spain declared. 

Battle of Manila Bay, May 1st. 
Hawaii annexed. 

1899 Treaty of peace with Spain. 

1907 A wireless message was sent across the Atlantic. 
1909 Self-government granted Cuba by the United States. 



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419 



02 



EXPLANATION OF DIACRITICAL MARKS 
USED IN THE PRONOUNCING INDEX 

(Following the Usage of Webster's Dictionary) 

a as a in ate a as a in am 

e " e " we e " e " end 

I " i " ^ce 1 " * " it 

o " o " oM o " o " wo£ 

U " U " WS6 U " M " WJ9 

a, e, i, 5, like a, e, I, o, but not to be pronounced so long 

a as a in turban (turb'n) e as e in there 

§ " e " burden (burd'n) 6 " o " orJ 

9 " o " prison (pi'is'n) u " ■?* " wn& 

a as a in fatigue e as e in /erw 



a as a in father 
u " w " rwde 



oo as oo in food 



a as a in all H a strong aspirate h 

it French nasal n as in 
g as g in ^e£ enfant 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 



Acadia (a-ka'dl-a), 188, 228 

Adams, John, 269, 272 

Adams, Samuel, 206-216 

Adrianople (ad'rl-an-o'p'l), bat- 
tle of, 27 

Africa, 57 

Alabama, 339 

Alaric (al'a-rlk), 27, 28 

Alaska, 386 

Albany, 127 

Albany, convention at, 181 

Alexander the Great, 1-6 

Alexandria, 6 

Alfred the Great, 39, 40 

Algonquin (al-gon'kwln) In- 
dians, 137 

Alleghany (al'e-ga'nl) River,-223, 
225 

Alphabet, 3 

America, visited by Northmen, 
61; discovered by Columbus, 
63; named, 67 

Amherst (am'erst), General, 192 

Andre (an'dra), 247 

Angles and Saxons, 35 

Americus Vespucius, 67 

Annapolis, Convention at, 262 

Antietam (an-te'tam), battle of, 
344, 364 

Appomattox (ap-po-mat'toks), 
Court House, Lee's surrender 
at, 358, 367 



Arabic numbers, 31 

Arabs, 31 

Arkansas (ar'kan-sa/) River, 142 

Arkansas, State of, 339 

Arlington, 362 

Arnold, Benedict, 246 

Asia, explored by Polo, 56 

Athens, 4 

Atlanta, capture of, 356 

Atlantic cable, 320 

Augustine, 36 

Azores (a-zorz'), 59 

Aztecs (az'teks), 64 

Bacon, Nathaniel, 167-172 

Bacon's Rebellion, 167-172; 
causes of, 167 

Balboa (bal-bo'a), 72-74 

Baltimore, first Lord, 151-152. 
See Calvert 

Baltimore, second Lord, 152-156. 
See Calvert 

Bank, National, 265 

Beauregard (bo'reh-gard), Gen- 
eral, 363 

Bell, Alexander Graham, 322- 
323 

Bemis (be'mls) Heights, 244 

Berkeley, Sir William, 167, 172 

Black Hawk War, 330 

Blockade of southern ports, 341 



421 



PKONOUNCING INDEX 



Bonaparte (bo'na-part), Napo- 
leon, 273 
Boone, Daniel, 275-280 
Boonesborough (boons 'bur-o), 

277 
Boston, 112-115 
Boston port closed, 211, 233, 252 
Boston, siege of, 214, 234, 235 
Boston Tea Party, 208-211, 233, 

252 
Braddock, General, 188, 189, 

227-231 
Bradford, Gov. William, 104, 106 
Bradford, William, printer, 175 
Brandywine, battle of, 244, 253 
Brewster, William, 104 
Bridges Creek, 218 
Britain, Roman invasion of, 16, 

17, 33; German invasion of, 

34-36 
British Isles, 16, 33 
Britons, 16 
Brooklyn, the, 370 
Brooklyn Heights, 237 
Bull Run, battle of, 341, 363; 

second battle of, 364 
Bunker Hill, battle of, 214 
Burgoyne (bur-goin'), General, 

241-243 
Burnside, General, 365 
Burr, Aaron, 265 

Cables laid, 320 

Cabot (kab'ot), John, 68-70, 131 
Cabot, Sebastian, 69, 70 
Caesar, Augustus, 21 
Caesar, Julius, 14-19 
Calhoun, John C, 311 
California, 307, 334, 352 
Calvert, Cecil, second Lord Bal- 
timore, 152-156 



Calvert, George, first Lord Bal- 
timore, 151-152 

Calvert, Leonard, Governor of 
Maryland, 152-155 

Cambridge, 234 

Camden, battle of, 254 

Canada, 135, 140 

Canonicus (ka-non'I-kus), 108 

Canute, 40 

Cape Breton (breVon) Island, 69 

Cape Verde (verd) Islands, 134 

Capital at New York, 263; at 
Washington, 271 

Carthage, 11-14 

Cartier, Jacques (zhak kar-tya/), 
134 

Carver, John, 104-106 

Catawba (ka-ta'ba) River, 296 

Cathay (kath-a/), 55 

Catholics, 151 

Cayuga (ka-yoo'ga), the, 371 

Champlain (sham-plan'), Lake, 
138 

Champlain, Samuel, 134-140 

Chancellorsville, battle of, 365 

Charlemagne (shar'le-man), 30 

Charles I of England, 152, 154, 
155 

Charles II of England, 159, 172 

Charleston, surrender of, 253 

Charlestown burned, 216 

Chattanooga (chat-ta-noo'ga), 
battle of, 355 

Chauncey (chan'sl), Commo- 
dore, 2*92 

Cherokee (cher'o-ke), Indians, 
277 

Chesapeake Bay, 90 

Chester, 160 

Chicago River, 147 



422 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 



Chili, 81 

China, 56 

Christian religion, growth of, 22; 

in England, 36, 37 
Circumnavigation of the globe, 

first, 80; second, 82 
Civil War, 316, 338-346, 352- 

358, 363-368, 370-375 
Clark, William, 273. See Lewis 

and Clark 
Clay, Henry, 303-308, 311, 333 
Clayborne, William, 154 
Clermont, (kler-monf), the, 288 
Clinton, General, 246, 248 
Clothilde (klo-teld'), 29, 30 
Clovis, 29, 30 

Cold Harbor, battle of, 366 
Colonies, The Thirteen. Table, 

416 
Columbus, Christopher, 55-67 
Compromise of 1850, 308, 334 
Concord, battle of, 182, 211, 234, 

252 
Confederate States of America, 

339 
Congress, 265, 306, 312, 318,334, 

342, 359, 362, 375, 376 
Connecticut, 166 
Constantine, 22, 24 
Constitution of the United States, 

184, 249, 263, 312 
Continental Congress, First, 233, 

259; Second, 182, 233, 237, 

253, 254, 260, 269 
Cornwallis, General, 183, 239, 

247, 254, 255 
Cortez, Hernando (er-nan'do 

kor-tez), 74, 75 
Cotton gin invented, 282 
Cowpens, battle of, 255 



Creek Indians, 299 
Croatoan (kro'tan), 87 
Crown Point, 188, 189, 228 
Crusades, 49, 50 
Cuba, 64, 376 
Cumberland, the, 342 
Cumberland Gap, 277 
Cumberland Road, 304 
Custis, George Washington 

Parke, 362 
Custis, Mary, 362 

Dare, Virginia, 86 

Davis, Jefferson, 362, 367 

Debtors, 164 

Declaration of Independence, 

182, 237, 268, 270, 273, 336 
Delaware, 166 
Delaware River, 160, 166 
Delft Haven, 104 
De Soto, Hernando (er-nan'do" 

da so'to), 75-78 
Dewey, Admiral George, 376- 

379 
Detroit, 292, 294 
Dinwiddie (dfn-wid'I), Governor, 

188, 222, 225 
Discoverers and Explorers. Ta- 
bles, 414, 415 
Diving boat invented, 287 
Doomsday Book, 43 
Dorchester Heights, 235 
Douglas (dug'las), Stephen A., 

334 
Drake, Sir Francis, 79-82, 85 
Duquesne (du-kan'), Marquis, 

187 
Dutch in America, 123-133 
Dutch East India Company, 123 
Dutch West India Company, 127 



423 



PROXOUXCIXG IXDEX 



Earl Harold, 41, 42 

Edison, Thomas A., 380-384 

Edward the Confessor, 41 

Egypt, 6 

Elizabeth, Queen, 79, 82-84 

Emancipation Proclamation, 345 

England, 68, 69, 79, 82, 84, 88, 
101, 104, 111, 126, 131, 151, 
152, 157, 164, 165, 182, 185, 
196, 198-201, 204, 207, 208, 
214, 222, 226, 228, 231, 233, 
234, 238, 241, 243, 244, 247, 
253, 255, 269, 291, 299, 385 

English navigators. See Tables, 
414, 415 

English navy, 40 

Essex, the, 369 

Etruscans, 9 

Explorers and Discoverers. Ta- 
bles, 414, 415 

Fairfax, Lord, 220 

Farragut (far'a-gut), David Glas- 
gow, 369-375 

Federal Convention, 262 

Ferdinand and Isabella, 32, 61 

Feudal System, 44-47 

Field, Cyrus W., 320, 321 

Financial difficulties after the 
Revolution, 260 

First Punic War, 12 

Florida, 72, 339 

Foote, Commodore, 353 

Fort Donelson, 353 

Fort Duquesne (du-kan'), 188, 
189, 192, 193, 226, 228, 229, 
231 

Fort Edward, 190, 243, 244 

Fort Frontenac (fron'te-nak), 
193 



Fort Henry, 353 

Fort LeBoeuf (leh-buf), 187, 222 

Fort Miami (mi-am 'I), 147 

Fort Mimms. 299 

Fort Necessity, 226 

Fort Niagara, 188, 189 

Fort Stanwix, 243 

Fort Sumter, 340, 341 

Fort Ticonderoga (tI-k5n-der-o'- 

ga), 242 
Fort William Henry, 190 
Fox River, 142 
Fox, George, 157 
France, 29, 134, 144, 148, 132, 

185, 197, 199, 222, 225, 228, 

231, 246, 291 
Franklin, Benjamin, 173, 184, 

269 
Franklin, James, 174 
Franklin, Josiah, 173 
Franks, the, 29 
Fredericksburg, battle of, 365 
French explorers. See Table, 415 
French and Indian Wars, 185- 

197, 200, 222-224, 385; causes 

of, 181, 185, 187, 222, 226 
Friends, Society of, 157 
Frontenac (fron'te-nak), Count, 

141, 144 
Fugitive Slave Law, 308 
Fulton, Robert, 285-290 

Gadsden Purchase. See Table, 

417 
Gage, General, 211, 214, 216 
Gates, General, 254 
Gaul, 14-16 

General Greene, the, 291 
Genoa (jen'o-a), 57, 61 
Geography, early ideas of, 55, 58, 

59, 61, 91 



424 



PKOXOIWCIXG INDEX 



George II, King of England, 165, 

199 
George III, King of England, 

199, 202, 207, 208, 211 
Georgia, 165, 166, 253, 258, 339 
German troops in the British 

Army, 237, 239 
Germans, 15, 25-29 
Germantown, battle of, 245, 253 
Germany, war with, 387, 388 
Gettysburg (get'Iz-burg), battle 

of, 345, 365, 366 
Ghent (gent), Treaty of, 295, 

301, 305 
Gist (jlst), Christopher, 223 
Gladiators, 21 
Golden Age of Rome, 21 
Golden Hind, the, 81, 82 
Goths, 26-28; in Spain, 31 
Government by the people begun 

in Massachusetts Colony, 113 
Grant, Ulysses S., 346, 350-360, 

366 
Great Eastern, the, 321 
Great Meadows, 226 
Greece, 1-6 
Greek colonies, 4 
Greeks, customs of, 2-4 
Green Bay, 142, 145. 
Greene, Nathanael, 251-258 
Greenland, discovered by Norse- 
men, 61 
Gridley, Captain, 378 
Griffon, the, 144-147 
Growth of the United States. See 

Table, 417 
Guilford (gll'ford) Courthouse, 

battle of, 256 



Half Moon, the, 123-126 



Hamilton, Alexander, 259-267 
Hampton Roads, 342 
Hancock, John, 182, 211, 270 
Hannibal, 11-14 
Harrison, General, 294 
Hartford, the, 371, 373 
Hastings, battle of, 42 
Hawaii (ha-wl'e), 387 
Hayne (han), Senator, 312 
Hayti (ha'tl), 64 
Henderson, Richard, 277 
Hengist and Horsa (hen'glst and 

hors'a), 35 
Henrietta Maria of England, 154 
Henry, Patrick, 198-205, 206, 

268 
Henry's Resolutions, 203, 206 
Henry VII of England, 68 
Hermitage, the, 299 
Holland, refuge for Pilgrims, 102 
Hooker, General Joe, 365 
House of Burgesses, 201,' 204, 233 
Howe, General, 237, 241, 243, 

244, 246 
Howe, Lord, 192 
Hudson, Henry, 123-127 
Hudson Bay, 126 
Hudson River, 125 
Huron (hu'ron) Indians, 137 

Iceland, discovered by the North- 
men, 61 

Illinois River, 142 

Incandescent light invented, 384 

Independence, Declaration of, 
182, 237, 268, 270, 273, 336 

India, 57 

Indians, 63, 64, 73, 74, 75, 78, 84, 
85, 91, 92, 94, 95-100, 107, 109, 
117, 118, 125, 127, 137, 141, 



425 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 



142, 154, 161, 165, 167, 182, 

186, 188-191, 223, 226, 230, 

242, 276-279, 299 
Ironclads, 342, 372 
Iroquois (Ir-o-kwoi') Indians, 

137-140, 182, 186 
Isabella, Queen of Spain, 32, 61, 

66 
Island of Kent, 155 
Italy, 9-24; merchants of, 56; 

trade routes of, 57 
Itasca (I-t&s'ka), the, 371 

Jackson, Andrew, 296-302, 303 
Jackson, General Stonewall, 341, 

363, 365 
James I. King of England, 90, 

101 
James River, 90, 168 
Jamestown, 90, 168-171 
Japan, 57 

Jefferson, Thomas, 265, 268-274 
Jesuits (jez'u-Its) in America, 140 
John, ruler of England, 48; 

struggle with Pope, 50, 51 
Johnson, Colonel William, 188 
Johnston, General, 355 
Joliet, Louis (loo-e' zho-le-a'), 

142-144 

Kansas, 335 

Kansas and Nebraska Bill, 334 

Keimer (ki'mer), 176, 177 

Kent Island, 155 

Kentucky, 277 

Kentucky River, 277 

Kinetoscope invented, 383 

King Alfred's " clock," 39 

King Arthur, 34 

Kings Mountain, battle of, 255 



King Philip's War, 118-122; 

causes of, 118 
Knight, 47 

Labrador, 69 

Lafayette (la-fa-yet'), Marquis 

de, 246, 248 
Lake Champlain, 138 
Lake Erie, 144 

Lake Erie, battle of, 292-294 
Lake Huron (hu'ron), 140 
Lake Michigan, 142 
Lake Ontario, 243 
Lake Superior, 141 
Lansing, John, 262 
LaSalle (la-sal'), 144-150 
Lawrence, Captain, 293 
Lawrence, the, 293 
Lee, Harry, 361 
Lee, General Robert E., 344-346, 

355, 357, 361-368 
Lewis and Clark's expedition, 

273 
Lewis, Meriwether (Lewis and 

Clark), 273 
Lexington, battle of, 1S2, 211— 

214, 234, 252 
Lightning rod invented, 181 
Lincoln, Abraham, 324-337, 338- 

349, 352, 355, 356, 358, 363 
Lincoln, Mary Todd, 333, 346 
Lincoln, Nancy Hanks, 325, 326 
Lincoln, Robert, 346 
Lincoln, Thomas, 325, 326 
Livingston, Robert R., 269, 287 
London Company, The, 88 
Louisburg (loo'Is-burg), 190-192 
Louisiana (loo-e-ze-a'na), French 

claims, 148; purchase, 273, 

307; State of, 339 



426 



PKOXOUXCIXG IXDEX 



Macedonia, 4 

Magellan (ma-jSl 'an), Ferdinand, 

80 
Magellan, Straits of, 80, 81 
Magna Charta (mag'na kar'ta), 

51 
Maine, the, 376 
Maine, 307 

Malvern Hill, battle of, 364 
Manassas (ma-nas'as), battle of, 

363; second battle, of 364 
Manhattan, 127, 128 
McClellan, General, 364 
McKinley, William, 377 
Manila, battle of, 377-379 
Manors, 46 

Marconi (mar-ko'ne), 320-322 
Mare Island, 370 
Mariner's compass, 58 
Marquette (mar-keV), Father, 

140-143 
Marshfield, 314 
Maryland, 151-156, 166 
Massachusetts, 166, 206, 207, 

211, 233 
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 112 
Massasoit (mas's&-soit), 107, 

117, 118 
Matagorda (m&t'a-gor'da) Bay, 

149 
Mayflower, the, 104, 107 
Mayflower Compact, 105 
Meade, General, 365 
Mediterranean (m6d'I-ter-ra'ne- 

an), 58, 292, 370 
Merrimac, the, 341-343 
Methods oi lighting, 380 
Methods of signaling, 316 
Mexican War, 307, 350-352, 362; 

causes of, 350 



Mexico, 74; city of, 75 352; 

Gulf of, 148, 149 
Minnesota, the, 342 
Mint, National, 265 
Minuit (mm'u-It), Peter, 127- 

129 
Minutemen, 211, 213, 214 
Mississippi River, 76, 141, 147, 

185 
Mississippi Valley, claimed for 

France, 148 
Missouri, 279, 306, 333; Com- 
promise, 307, 333, 335; River, 

142 
Mobile Bay, battle of, 372 
Mohammedans, 31 
Monasteries, 37 
Monongahela (mo-non-ga-he'la) 

River, 225 
Monitor, the, 343 
Monterey (mon-ta-ra'), battle of, 

351 
Montcalm (m5nt-kam'), Louis 

de, 189-197 
Montreal (mont-re-al'), 135 
Monticello (mon-te-seTlo), 273 
Moors, 31, 32 
Morgan, General, 255 
Morristown Heights, 241 
Morse, Samuel F. B., 316-320 
Mount Hope, 122 
Mount Vernon, 220, 221 



Napoleon, 273 
Narragansett Bay, 117 
Narragansett Indians, 117, 

121 
Nashville, 354 
National Bank, 265 
National Mint, 265 



119, 



427 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 



Navigation Acts, 199 

Nebraska, 334 

Negro Slaves. See Slavery 

New Albion, 82 

New Amsterdam, 128-133 

New England, 61, 95, 110 

New England C our ant, 174 

Newfoundland, 152 

New Hampshire, 166 

New Jersey, 166 

New Mexico, 307, 352 

New Netherland, 127-133 

New Orleans, battle of, 299; cap- 
tured by Farragut, 371 

New York, 133, 137, 166 

New York City, 133, 237, 238, 
246, 259, 263 

Niagara, 228 

Niagara, the, 293 

Niagara River, 144 

Nina (nen'ya), the, 62 

Nonimportation plan, 207 

Norfolk, 341, 343 

North Carolina, 164, 166, 255, 
256, 339 

Northmen, 38, 40-44, 61 

Northwest Passage, search for, 
70, 82, 123-126, 137, 141 

Nova Scotia (no'va sko'shl-a), 
188 

Nueces (nwa'ses) River, 351 

Nullification, 302, 312 

Oglethorpe (o'g'l-thorp), General 

James, 164-166 
Ohio country, 187, 222, 232 
Ohio River, 142, 188 
Olympia, the, 377 
Olympian games, 2 
Omnibus Bill, 308 



Orinoco (o-rl-no'ko) River. 66 
Oswego, capture of, 189 

Pacific Ocean, 74, 79 
Palos (pa'los), 62, 64 
Panama Canal, 387 
Panama, Isthmus of, 72, 81 
Parliament, first English, 52; 

later, 200, 203, 207 
Passamaquoddy (pas-a-ma- 

kwod'I) Bay, 135 
Patricians, 11 
Patroon system, 128, 129 
Penn, Admiral, 159, 160 
Penn, William, 157, 163 
Pennsylvania, 159, 160, 166 
Pennsylvania Gazette, 177 
Pensacola (pSn-sa-ko'la), 299 
Pequot (pe'kwot) War, 117-118; 

causes of, 117 
Perry, Christopher, 291 
Perry, Oliver Hazard, 291-295 
Persia, 5, 6 
Peru, 80 

Petersburg, 357, 366 
Philadelphia, 161, 245, 246 
Philip, king of Macedon, 4 
Philip, King, 118-122 
Philippine Islands, 80, 379, 386 
Phonograph invented, 383 
Picts and Scots, 34 
Pilgrims, 101, 110, 111 
Pinta (pen'ta), the, 62 
Pitt, William, 191, 193 
Plains of Abraham, 195 
Plebeians, 11 
Plymouth, 106 
Plymouth Rock, 106 
Pocahontas (po-kii-h6n'tas) , 92- 

95 



428 



PROXOUKCIXG IXDEX 



Polo (po'16), Marco, 56, 60 

Ponce de Leon (pon-tha da la- 
on'), 71, 72 

Poor Richard's Almanack, 179 

Pope's division of the World, 134 

Pope, General, 352, 364 

Port Royal, 135 

Porter, Commander, 369 

Porto Rico (por'to re'ko), 66, 71, 
379, 386 

Portugal, 57, 58, 61 

Potatoes introduced into Eng- 
land, 85 

Potomac River, 152 

Powhatan (pow-h^-tan'), 91, 92, 
94 

Presqueisle (presk-el'), 187, 222 

Princeton, battle of, 241, 253, 
260 

Providence, 117 

Provincetown Harbor, 105 

Puritans, 111-122 

Put-In- Bay, 293 

Quakers, 157-159 
Quebec, 137, 191-193, 232 

Railroad in America, first, 289; 

first transcontinental, 290 
Raleigh (raw'll), Sir Walter, 83- 

87 
Read, Deborah, 175, 178 
Religious freedom in America, 

117, 154 
Revere (r6-ver'), Paul, 212 
Revolution, 234-249, 252-258, 

297, 385; causes of, 201, 206, 

208, 211, 233 
Rhode Island, 117, 166 
Richard the Lion-hearted, 48-50 



Richmond, 341, 346, 358, 363, 

367 
Rio Grande (re'6 gran 'da) River, 

the, 351 
Roanoke (ro-a-nok'), 84, 86 
Rocky Mountains, 273 
Roderick, 31 
Rolfe, John, 94 
Roman Empire, divided, 24; fall 

of, 24 
Romans, 9; customs of, 10, 11 
Rome, 9; civilization of, 19-21 
Runnymeade, 51, 52 

Sailors' rights, 305 

St. Joseph River, 145 

St. Lawrence River, 134, 185 

St. Leger (lej'er), Colonel, 242, 

243 
St. Louis (sant loo Is), 273 
St. Mary's, 154 
Salem, 111, 112 
Samoset (sam'o-sSt), 107 
San Francisco Bay, 82 
San Salvador, 64 
Santa Maria (san'ta ma-re 'a), 

the, 62, 64 
Santiago (san-te-a'go), battle of, 

378 
Saratoga, 244 
Savannah, 165, 253 
Savannah River, 165 
Schools, 109, 115 
Schuyler (ski'ler), General Philip, 

242 
Scott, General, 302 
Secession, 338, 339 
Second Punic War, 12 
Separatists, 101 
Serfs, 46 



429 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 



Seven Days' Battles, 364 
Shenandoah (shen'&n-do'a) Val- 
ley, 221, 355 
Sheridan, General Philip, 355 
Sherman. General, 354, 355, 367 
Sherman, Roger, 269 
Shiloh (shl'lo), battle of, 354 
Shirley, General, 188 
Sicily, 11, 12 
Slavery, 94, 305, 330, 333, 338, 

344, 361 
Smith, Captain John, 88-100, 

106, 124 
South Carolina, 164, 166, 253, 

255, 257, 301, 312, 339 
Spain, 61, 64, 67, 71-75, 79, 80, 

84, 164, 199, 376 
Spanish Explorers. See Tables, 

414, 415 
Spanish War, 376-379; causes, 

376 
Sparta, 4 

Speedwell, the, 104 
Springfield, Illinois, 333 
Squanto, 107 
Stamp Act, 200, 201, 206, 233, 

268; repealed, 208, 233, 268 
Standish Miles, 101-110 
Stars and Stripes, 387 
Staten Island, 237 
State Rights, 302, 312, 338 
Steamboat, first in America, 288 
Stillwater, 242 
Stuart, J. E. B., 364 
Stuyvesant (stl've-s&nt), Peter, 

129-133 
Swanzey, 119 
Sweden, 166 



Tariff laws in the United States, 
301, 311 



Taxation of colonies, 200, 206, 
208, 233, 252 

Taylor, General, 351 

Tea tax, 208, 233, 252 

Tecumseh (te-kum'se), the, 373 

Telegraph invented, 318; im- 
proved, 381, 383 

Telephone invented, 322 

Tennessee, 339 

Tennessee, the, 372, 374 

Texas, 149, 339, 350 

Thanksgiving Day, 108 

Thirteen original colonies, 166. 
See Table, 416 

Ticonderoga (ti-kSn-der-o'ga), 
191, 192 

Tobacco, culture of, in America, 
94, 167; introduced in Eng- 
land, 85 

Toga, 10 

Toscanelli (tos-ka-neTle)', 60 

Tournaments, medieval, 47 

Towns, medieval, 46 

Trade routes to the East, 57 

Treaties: Treaty of Paris (French 
and Indian War), 196; Treaty 
of 1783 (close of Revolution), 
183; Treaty of Ghent (War of 
1812), 295, 301, 305; treaty 
with Spain (Spanish W r ar), 379 

Trenton, battle of, 239, 240, 253, 
260 

Triumph, Roman, 17, 18 

United States of America, 166, 

182, 237, 246, 270, 385 
University of Pennsylvania, 180 
University of Virginia, 273 



Valley Forge, 245, 253 



430 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 



Venice, 57, 61 

Vespucius, Americus (a-mer'I- 

ktis ves-pu'se-us), 67 
Vicksburg, 345, 354, 366 
Vinland, 61 
Virginia, 84, 90, 154, 166, 167, 

188, 201, 206, 222, 225, 233, 

256, 339 

Wampanoag (wam-pa-no'ag) In- 
dians, 118 
War of 1812, 291-295, 299-301, 

305; causes of, 291 
Wars, important. See Tables, 

418, 419 
Washington, National Capital, 

271 
Washington, Augustine, 217, 218 
Washington, Augustine, Mrs., 

218-220 
Washington, George, 183, 188, 

217-232, 233-250, 253, 254, 

260, 263, 271, 272 
Washington, Lawrence, 220, 221 
Washington, Martha Custis, 233 
Webster, Daniel, 309, 315, 
Weehawken, 266 



West, growth of, 141, 147, 187, 
273, 275, 277, 289, 298, 304, 
307, 386 

West Indies, 64, 71, 199 

West Point, 246 

White, Governor John, 86 

Whitney, Eli, 281-285 

Wilderness, battles of, 357, 366 

Wilderness Road, 277 

William the Conqueror, 42-44 

Williams., Roger, 115-118 

Williamsburg, 201, 222, 225, 227 

Wills Creek, 222, 229 

Wilson, War Message, 388 

Winthrop, Governor John, 111— 
115 

Wireless telegraphy, 321 

Wolfe, General James, 189-197 

World War, 388 

Wright, Silas, 319 

Writs of assistance, 200 

Yadkin River, 276 

Yates, Robert, 262 

York, Duke of, 131, 159, 166 

Yorktown, 183, 248, 258 ; 260 



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